Nonstop flight route between Colombo, Sri Lanka and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,013 miles (or 11,286 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 Merrill Field, 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 Merrill Field. 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 closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• 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.
• 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.
• It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• A new split-level passenger terminal building which separates arrivals and departures vertically, a new pier with eight boarding gates and 14 passenger boarding bridges with a dedicated gate comprising two passenger boarding bridges for the operations of the new Airbus A380, will be included in the proposed new complex.
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The existing airport will be converted to a domestic and regional terminal when the new complex is ready.
• Bandaranaike International Airport is equipped with 18 double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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 airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.
• Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, was the only airport serving Anchorage until 1951 when the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill.
• Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.