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):

• 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.
• Buffalo Airport Fire Department is a career fire department for the airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport handled 5,118,000 passengers last year.
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) has 2 runways.
• 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.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• The airport is designed to facilitate for over 800 foreign passengers at peak hours and several local passengers per every 1000 km² in side the buildings.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• 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.