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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,218 miles (or 13,226 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 Hilo 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 Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Hilo 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 Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (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.
• On March 2013, it was reported that certifications of compliance and certification of aerodrome was awarded to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• 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 airport was declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on 18 March 2013 and commenced operations with the landing of a SriLankan Airlines special Airbus A340 flight named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' with the President on board.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.

Facts about Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• During the late 1950s Territorial leaders anticipated a boom in tourism, prompting plans for a second airport capable of accommodating large jet aircraft.
• Over 95% of aircraft operations take place on Runway 8-26 because the orientation of Runway 3-21 makes direct flights over residential and commercial areas unavoidable.
• Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, is owned and operated by the Hawaiʻi state Department of Transportation.
• The furthest airport from Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Hilo International Airport (meaning Hilo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Efforts finally had some success on April 28, 2006, when ATA Airlines re-established daily non-stop service between Hilo and Oakland International Airport in California aboard its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• Although designed as the second gateway into and out of Hawaiʻi, for many years Hilo had been Hawaiʻi's only major airport lacking non-stop flights to North America.
• Because of Hilo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilo 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.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.