Nonstop flight route between Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keesler Air Force Base (BIX), Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,817 miles (or 15,799 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Keesler Air Force Base and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Keesler Air Force Base and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Keesler Air Force Base (BIX):

• Other organizations assigned to Keesler AFB include the 45th Airlift Squadron, a geographically separated unit of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.
• Congress initially appropriated $6 million for construction at Biloxi and an additional $2 million for equipment.
• The furthest airport from Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,904 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Keesler Air Force Base", another name for BIX is "Keesler AFB".
• On August 29, 2005 Keesler sustained a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina, which made its third Gulf Coast landfall as a Category 3 storm approximately 30 miles west.
• The closest airport to Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport (GPT), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of BIX.
• During the early 1960s, Keesler lost many of its airborne training courses but Keesler still remained the largest training base throughout the 1970s.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• Because of Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 157 feet, planes can take off or land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• The furthest airport from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,719 miles (18,860 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.