Nonstop flight route between Dover, Delaware, United States and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dover Air Force Base (DOV), Dover, Delaware, United States and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,892 miles (or 14,310 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 Dover Air Force Base 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 Dover Air Force Base 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 Dover Air Force Base (DOV):

• During Desert Shield, the wing flew approximately 17,000 flying hours and airlifted a total of 131,275 tons of cargo in support of combat operations to free the Kingdom of Kuwait.
• On 1 September 1946 as a result of the drawdown of United States forces after World War II, Dover Army Airfield, was placed on temporary inactive status.
• The furthest airport from Dover Air Force Base (DOV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,750 miles (18,909 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Dover Air Force Base (DOV) is Millville Municipal Airport (MIV), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) NE of DOV.
• In addition to being known as "Dover Air Force Base", another name for DOV is "Dover AFB".
• The origins of Dover Air Force Base begin in March 1941 when the United States Army Air Corps indicated a need for the airfield as a training airfield and assumed jurisdiction over the municipal airport at Dover, Delaware.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• In 2012, plans were drawn to relaunch Ratmalana as an international airport, to act as a secondary airport for the city.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• 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.
• The airport is much closer to the Colombo city center compared to the larger Bandaranaike International Airport which is 32 km north of the city.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 at one time had the country's main air terminal, with the Douglas DC-3 Dakota and Lockheed Constellation aeroplanes of Air Ceylon flying out of it.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".