Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Marseille, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), Marseille, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,214 miles (or 8,391 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 Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence 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):

• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• The air traffic control tower of height 41m has been constructed at the highest elevation of the aerodrome.
• 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 second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.

Facts about Marseille Provence Airport (MRS):

• Formerly known as Marseille–Marignane Airport, it has been managed since 1934 by the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• In addition to being known as "Marseille Provence Airport", another name for MRS is "Aéroport de Marseille ProvenceAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-14".
• Because of Marseille Provence Airport's relatively low elevation of 70 feet, planes can take off or land at Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of MRS.
• Marseille Provence Airport handled 8,295,479 passengers last year.
• From 2013 the airport proposes a new commercial offer, with 30 new shops and restaurants, among which the first Burger King shop in France since 1997.
• Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Marseille Provence Airport (meaning Marseille Provence Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,349 miles (19,874 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In the 1920s and 1930s, Marignane was one of France's main points of operation for flying boats.