Nonstop flight route between Honolulu, Hawaii, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Honolulu International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,006 miles (or 12,885 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 Honolulu International 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 Honolulu International 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 Honolulu International Airport (HNL):

• The furthest airport from Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Honolulu International Airport (meaning Honolulu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• It is located in the Honolulu census-designated place three miles northwest of Oahu's central business district.
• Because of Honolulu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Honolulu 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.
• Pan Am used Honolulu as a transpacific hub for many years, initially as a connecting point between the West Coast and Polynesia in 1946, followed by service to East Asia through Midway Island and Wake Island from 1947.
• Honolulu International Airport (HNL) has 6 runways.
• The airport has four major runways, which it shares with the adjacent Hickam Air Force Base.
• The closest airport to Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is Hickam Field (HIK), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of HNL.
• In addition to the four paved runways, Honolulu International Airport has two designated offshore runways designated 8W/26W and 4W/22W for use by seaplanes.
• In 2011, Hawaiian Airlines renovated the check-in lobby of the Interisland Terminal, replacing the traditional check-in counters with six circular check-in islands in the middle of the lobbies, which can be used for inter-island, mainland, and international flights.

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.
• 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 air traffic control tower of height 41m has been constructed at the highest elevation of the aerodrome.
• 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.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• This project is expected to stimulate the development and infrastructure in the area, raising living standards of the people not only in Hambantota, but in nearby Matara, Moneragala and other close districts.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• On 16 October 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air registered AP-CAB, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan landed on runway 23 at 12.38 PM local time becoming the first aircraft to land at the new airport as requested by the Rajapaksa regime.
• 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 second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.