Nonstop flight route between Gdańsk, Poland and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN), Gdańsk, Poland and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,782 miles (or 7,696 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN):

• The furthest airport from Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 2006 it served 1,249,780 passengers.
• There was some controversy as to whether the name should be spelled Lech Walesa or Lech Wałęsa.
• A future rail line is intended to be built.
• Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport's relatively low elevation of 489 feet, planes can take off or land at Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 addition to being known as "Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport", other names for GDN include "Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy" and "Gdańsk".
• The closest airport to Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) is Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport (QYD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) N of GDN.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (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.
• On October 2012, the Super King 20 Test Aircraft, which belongs to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Department and features a dual engine, landed on the new runway to test the newly constructed runway and the instrumentation.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.