Nonstop flight route between Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,413 miles (or 8,711 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 London Biggin Hill Airport and Ratmalana 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 London Biggin Hill Airport and Ratmalana 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 London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH):

• The furthest airport from London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,892 miles (19,139 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In May 1992 the Department of Transport issued a direction to the Council under s.13 of the Airports Act 1986.
• The airport has two runways, aligned roughly north-south and east-west, which intersect at their respective southern and western ends, forming an L shaped configuration.
• The closest airport to London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of BQH.
• In addition to being known as "London Biggin Hill Airport", another name for BQH is "Biggin Hill Airport".
• London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located 12 NM south-southeast of Central London.
• London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) has 2 runways.
• In the grounds of the airport an Air Scout centre can be found.
• Because of London Biggin Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 599 feet, planes can take off or land at London Biggin Hill 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.
• Despite the effective ban on scheduled services, Biggin Hill is used by a large number of business flights by business jets and similar sized aircraft.
• The airport is located on a hill top, just to the east of the Bromley to Westerham road and about 1 mile to the north of the town of Biggin Hill.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• During the Second World War it was used as a Royal Air Force base, with No 30 Squadron flying Hawker Hurricanes from there against Japanese Navy aircraft.
• Because of Ratmalana Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratmalana 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.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ratmalana airport was declared open for small international commercial flights.
• In 1964, the government decided to build the new Bandaranaike International Airport north of the city, to replace Ratmalana.
• The furthest airport from Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,628 miles (18,713 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• Ratmalana Airport, is one of the two international airports serving the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the other being Bandaranaike International Airport.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• In 1934 the State Council of Ceylon made a decision to construct an aerodrome within reach of the capital city of Colombo and decided on Ratmalana as the best site.