Nonstop flight route between Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Jaffna, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawkins Field (HKS), Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Jaffna Airport (JAF), Jaffna, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,456 miles (or 15,219 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 Hawkins Field and Jaffna 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 Hawkins Field and Jaffna 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 Hawkins Field (HKS):

• Jackson Army Air Base was the name of an abandoned military base in the movie Capricorn One, where they staged a fake Mars landing.
• In addition to the airfield, the building of a large support base with several hundred buildings, numerous streets, and a utility network was carried out with barracks, various administrative buildings, maintenance shops and hangars.
• Hawkins Field is a public airport three miles northwest of Jackson, in Hinds County, Mississippi.
• In addition to being known as "Hawkins Field", another name for HKS is "(former Jackson Army Air Base)".
• The furthest airport from Hawkins Field (HKS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,975 miles (17,662 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Hawkins Field (HKS) has 2 runways.
• The Netherlands pilots operated from the facility as a separate entity until January 1942 when the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center took over the base and the Dutch pilots began training under the auspices of 74th Flying Training Wing at Maxwell Field, Alabama.
• Because of Hawkins Field's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawkins 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 closest airport to Hawkins Field (HKS) is Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) E of HKS.
• The Kerry Committee report which began in the United States Senate in early 1986 contains a U.S.

Facts about Jaffna Airport (JAF):

• The closest airport to Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), which is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) SSE of JAF.
• Jaffna Airport (JAF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,511 miles (18,525 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• In addition to being known as "Jaffna Airport", another name for JAF is "யாழ்ப்பாணம் விமான நிலையம்යාපනය ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• Because of Jaffna Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Jaffna 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 Sri Lanka Air Force detachment moved onto the site around 1976.