Nonstop flight route between Gulkana, Alaska, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gulkana Airport (GKN), Gulkana, Alaska, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,106 miles (or 11,435 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 Gulkana 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 Gulkana 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 Gulkana Airport (GKN):

• The furthest airport from Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,451 miles (16,820 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 204 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 187 enplanements in 2009, and 141 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Copper Center Airport (CZC), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of GKN.
• Gulkana Airport covers an area of 1,678 acres at an elevation of 1,586 feet above mean sea level.
• Gulkana Airport (GKN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• The new international airport is expected to expand the local aviation industry whilst being a catalyst for the country's economic development enabling international trade, tourism, vocational training and employment.
• 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.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• 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.