Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Lübeck (near Hamburg), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Lübeck Airport (LBC), Lübeck (near Hamburg), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,073 miles (or 8,165 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 Lübeck 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 Lübeck 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):

• 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".
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• Domestic carriers Helitours and Cinnamon Air offer charter flights that connect the airport with Ratmalana Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.
• The new international airport is expected to expand the local aviation industry whilst being a catalyst for the country's economic development enabling international trade, tourism, vocational training and employment.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.

Facts about Lübeck Airport (LBC):

• After the re-unification of Germany, the airport started to grow heavily.
• In June 2014 Ryanair announced to leave Lübeck Airport as of October 2014 due to the airport's uncertain future.
• Lübeck Airport handled 537,835 passengers last year.
• Lübeck Airport (LBC) currently has only 1 runway.
• There are some additional holiday charter routes on behalf of local tour operators which are served only a few times a season.
• Because of Lübeck Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Lübeck 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.
• In addition to being known as "Lübeck Airport", another name for LBC is "Flughafen Lübeck".
• The closest airport to Lübeck Airport (LBC) is Hamburg Airport (HAM), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of LBC.
• A new ILS CAT II system went operational in February 2014 allowing planes to operate at the airport in more difficult weather conditions.
• The furthest airport from Lübeck Airport (LBC) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,674 miles (18,787 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.