Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Sarasota, Florida (near Bradenton), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), Sarasota, Florida (near Bradenton), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,867 miles (or 15,879 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 Sarasota–Bradenton 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 Sarasota–Bradenton 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 expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• 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.
• On March 2013, it was reported that certifications of compliance and certification of aerodrome was awarded to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• 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.
• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.

Facts about Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ):

• The furthest airport from Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,404 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Sarasota–Bradenton 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 table lists annual enplanements from the Federal Aviation Administration's Terminal Area Forecast 2011.
• Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is Venice Municipal Airport (VNC), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SSE of SRQ.
• Most airlines refer to the airport on destination maps and flight status displays as just "Sarasota", as that is the more widely known city.
• In January 2012 AirTran Airways announced that it would drop SRQ on August 12, 2012 as part of its merger with Southwest.