Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,943 miles (or 16,001 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 William P. Hobby 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 William P. Hobby 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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 city of Houston opened and dedicated a new air terminal and hangar in 1940.
• Houston Mayor Annise Parker backed Southwest's flight to make Hobby an international airport on May 23, 2012.
• The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• In a survey among travelers in the United States by J.D.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport opened in 1969 because of expansion limitations at Hobby, and all airlines at Hobby moved there.
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• The terminal includes an interfaith chapel.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".