Nonstop flight route between Sharq Al-Owainat, Egypt and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ), Sharq Al-Owainat, Egypt and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,661 miles (or 5,892 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 Sharq Al-Owainat 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 Sharq Al-Owainat 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 Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ):

• The closest airport to Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ) is Al Hufalysin Airport (ABS), which is located 185 miles (298 kilometers) E of GSQ.
• Because of Sharq Al-Owainat Airport's relatively low elevation of 859 feet, planes can take off or land at Sharq Al-Owainat 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 airport is managed under a Build-Operate-Transfer operation.
• Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is nearly antipodal to Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (meaning Sharq Al-Owainat Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rurutu Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,996 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• 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 air traffic control tower of height 41m has been constructed at the highest elevation of the aerodrome.
• The Runway dimensions are 3500m * 60m with 7.5m paved shoulders either side and 260m Runway safety area on both runway ends.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• 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.
• The airport was declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on 18 March 2013 and commenced operations with the landing of a SriLankan Airlines special Airbus A340 flight named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' with the President on board.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.