Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Egilsstaðir, Iceland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS), Egilsstaðir, Iceland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,983 miles (or 9,628 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 Egilsstaðir 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 Egilsstaðir 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):

• 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 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.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• 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 terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• 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.
• The second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.

Facts about Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS):

• Egilsstaðir Airport handled 101,424 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Egilsstaðir Airport", another name for EGS is "Egilsstaðaflugvöllur".
• The furthest airport from Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,163 miles (17,965 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Egilsstaðir Airport's relatively low elevation of 76 feet, planes can take off or land at Egilsstaðir 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 Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) is Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of EGS.