Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Kongolo, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Kongolo Airport (KOO), Kongolo, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,820 miles (or 6,147 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 Kongolo 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 Kongolo 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):

• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".

Facts about Kongolo Airport (KOO):

• The furthest airport from Kongolo Airport (KOO) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kongolo Airport (meaning Kongolo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,056 miles (19,402 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Kongolo Airport (KOO) is Kalemie Airport (FMI), which is located 159 miles (256 kilometers) ESE of KOO.