Nonstop flight route between Buffalo, New York, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF), Buffalo, New York, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,808 miles (or 14,175 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 Buffalo Niagara International 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 Buffalo Niagara International 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 Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF):

• Buffalo Niagara International Airport handled 5,118,000 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,465 miles (18,452 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Buffalo Niagara International Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Buffalo Niagara 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.
• Southwest Airlines, which recently merged and absorbed AirTran Airways into its system, remains the busiest airline at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, handling 32 percent of the outbound flights.
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) has 2 runways.
• Shortly after Deregulation, American and United began reducing service at medium-sized Northeastern markets such as Buffalo, in search of higher profits elsewhere.
• The closest airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) NW of BUF.
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport is one of the fastest growing airports in New York State.
• The only shop is Everything ASAP, though they have 2 locations, one near security and one near the far end of the terminal near gate 20.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• The second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open 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".
• 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.
• 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.