Nonstop flight route between Colombo, Sri Lanka and Memphis, Tennessee, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka and Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,445 miles (or 15,201 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 Bandaranaike International Airport and Memphis 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 Bandaranaike International Airport and Memphis 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 Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• The furthest airport from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,614 miles (18,691 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Terminal 1 opened in 1967 and is the oldest, but biggest terminal in the airport.
• The second stage will involve the acquisition of 600 hectares of public land, the construction of a runway capable of accommodating new-generation airplanes, an aircraft repair and maintenance center, an arrival and a departure terminal, a shopping arcade, a cargo complex connected to the airport by rail and a multistory car park.
• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• The airport is undergoing resurfacing of its runway.
• In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• On 7 May 2007 the Sri Lankan Government decided to shift some military aviation operations out of the space adjoining the airport to SLAF Hingurakgoda, thus paving the way for more civilian operations.
• In 1957 it closed as the British left the island, and SWRD Bandaranaike removed all the British Military airfields from Ceylon, the airfield was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force and renamed Katunayake.
• Because of Bandaranaike International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bandaranaike 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.
• In the early 1990s the position of the airport's runway was shifted northward and the old runway was made into a taxiway for departing and arriving aircraft.

Facts about Memphis International Airport (MEM):

• Memphis International Airport handled 7,874,888 passengers last year.
• Memphis is ranked the 41st busiest US airport by enplanements with 4,598,186 passengers using the airport in 2013, a 32% decrease from the previous year.
• Because of Memphis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Memphis 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 furthest airport from Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,010 miles (17,719 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The current terminal was designed by Mann & Harrover and cost $6.5 million.
• The closest airport to Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Olive Branch Airport (OLV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ESE of MEM.
• From 1993 to 2009 Memphis had the largest cargo operations of any airport worldwide.
• Memphis International Airport (MEM) has 4 runways.
• The 164th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard is based at the co-located Memphis Air National Guard Base, operating C-17 Globe master III transport aircraft.
• Runway 9/27 reopened for traffic on November 30, 2009 after nine months of resurfacing.