Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Tripoli, Libya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli, Libya would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,700 miles (or 7,563 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 Mitiga 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 Mitiga 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 second stage of the HIA project the construction will begin in 2013 and is to be completed by 2016.
• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• 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.

Facts about Mitiga International Airport (MJI):

• On 21 August 2011, rebels launched an assault on Mitiga as part of a bid to battle loyalist forces in Tripoli, sustaining a number of casualties in the process
• During the 2011 Libyan civil war, the The Times and The Guardian reported claims that the airport had been taken over by protestors opposed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
• Mitiga International Airport (MJI) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,524 miles (18,546 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• On 25 October 2011, Google Earth released mutlispectral imagery from Geo Eye taken on 28 August which showed the airfield as well as the highly capable MiG-25 aircraft without any visible damage.
• The closest airport to Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MJI.
• In addition to being known as "Mitiga International Airport", another name for MJI is "مطار امعيتيقة الدولي".
• The airport was originally built in 1923 and served as Mellaha Air Base for the Italian Air Force.
• Because of Mitiga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Mitiga 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.