Nonstop flight route between Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bournemouth Airport (BOH), Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,575 miles (or 8,972 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 Bournemouth Airport 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 Bournemouth Airport 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 Bournemouth Airport (BOH):

• Bath Travel's Palmair remained the prime user of the airport, with a 737-200 permanently based there.
• In 2012, Aer Arann and Aerlingus launched a franchised service to Dublin six times a week.
• The furthest airport from Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,941 miles (19,218 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Adjacent to the entrance to Bournemouth Airport was the College of Air Traffic Control, operated by NATS, the now privatised provider of air traffic control services in the UK.
• Bournemouth Airport (BOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is Southampton Airport (SOU), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) ENE of BOH.
• Because of Bournemouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Bournemouth 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.
• Bournemouth Airport handled 660,272 passengers last year.
• From November 1944 the airfield took over from Bristol's Whitchurch airport as the main operating base for British Overseas Airways Corporation until Heathrow fully opened in 1948.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• The second stage of the HIA project the construction will begin in 2013 and is to be completed by 2016.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• 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.
• 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.
• Domestic carriers Helitours and Cinnamon Air offer charter flights that connect the airport with Ratmalana Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.
• 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.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.