Nonstop flight route between Kekaha, Hawaii, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), Kekaha, Hawaii, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,878 miles (or 12,678 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 PMRF Barking Sands 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 PMRF Barking Sands 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 PMRF Barking Sands (BKH):

• When North Korea threatened to launch Taepodong-2 ICBMs toward Hawaii in 2009, the US temporarily deployed THAAD missile batteries to the facility.
• In 1921, the land area known as the Barking Sands was acquired by the Kekaha Sugar Company and became a runway for private planes.
• The closest airport to PMRF Barking Sands (BKH) is Port Allen Airport (PAK), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) SE of BKH.
• The furthest airport from PMRF Barking Sands (BKH) is Gobabis Airport (GOG), which is nearly antipodal to PMRF Barking Sands (meaning PMRF Barking Sands is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobabis Airport), and is located 12,351 miles (19,877 kilometers) away in Gobabis, Namibia.
• Because of PMRF Barking Sands's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at PMRF Barking Sands 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.
• The Navy is currently using PMRF to test hit to kill technology using direct collision of the anti-ballistic missile with its target.
• PMRF Barking Sands (BKH) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• On October 2012, the Super King 20 Test Aircraft, which belongs to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Department and features a dual engine, landed on the new runway to test the newly constructed runway and the instrumentation.
• 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.
• It was initially planned to build an international airport serving the south of Sri Lanka at Weerawila, but the plans were scrapped due to environmental concerns.
• The airport was declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on 18 March 2013 and commenced operations with the landing of a SriLankan Airlines special Airbus A340 flight named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' with the President on board.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".