Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Columbus, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS), Columbus, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,741 miles (or 15,676 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 Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Columbus Municipal 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 Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Columbus Municipal 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 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.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• The second stage of the HIA project the construction will begin in 2013 and is to be completed by 2016.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 airport is designed to facilitate for over 800 foreign passengers at peak hours and several local passengers per every 1000 km² in side the buildings.
• On 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open on 18 March 2013.

Facts about Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS):

• The next use of the airfield was when the Department of Commerce refitted the facility as one of its network of Intermediate Landing Fields, which were established in the 1920s & 1930s to serve as emergency landing fields along commercial airways between major cities.
• Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Deming Municipal AirportDeming Army Airfield (DMN), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CUS.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Municipal Airport", other names for CUS include "Historical Airport", "Modern Airfield" and "0NM0".
• Because of Columbus Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,024 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Pershing crossed the border with 6,600 men a week after the Columbus raid.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,433 miles (18,400 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The airport's operations ceased abruptly with the arrest of the notorious "Columbus Air Force" drug-running gang by the DEA in the late 1970s.