Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Luqa, Malta:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Malta International Airport (MLA), Luqa, Malta would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,660 miles (or 7,500 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 Malta 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 Malta 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 terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• 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 16 October 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air registered AP-CAB, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan landed on runway 23 at 12.38 PM local time becoming the first aircraft to land at the new airport as requested by the Rajapaksa regime.
• The Runway dimensions are 3500m * 60m with 7.5m paved shoulders either side and 260m Runway safety area on both runway ends.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Malta International Airport (MLA):

• Malta International Airport handled 405,200 passengers last year.
• Car hire companies including Avis, Hertz, Thrifty, First Car Rental and Active Car Rental are located in the Welcomers' Hall.
• The furthest airport from Malta International Airport (MLA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Malta Airport MetOffice is part of the Malta International Airport and provides the function of a national meteorological service for Malta.
• There was a small increase in the volume of traffic that passed through Malta International Airport in 2011.
• In addition to being known as "Malta International Airport", other names for MLA include "Luqa Airport" and "Valletta Airport".
• Malta International Airport (MLA) has 2 runways.
• Air traffic constantly increased and new airlines with larger aircraft started operations.
• Arriva Malta buses serve the airport.
• Because of Malta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Malta 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.
• Shops at the airport include news kiosk, florist and tax-free outlets, Food and Beverage outlets.
• The closest airport to Malta International Airport (MLA) is Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of MLA.