Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Sioux City, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX), Sioux City, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,069 miles (or 14,595 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 Sioux Gateway 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 Sioux Gateway 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):

• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• 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.
• 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 terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• 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.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.

Facts about Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX):

• The closest airport to Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX) is Le Mars Municipal Airport (LRJ), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NNE of SUX.
• The furthest airport from Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,641 miles (17,125 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945, but in September 1946 the airfield was opened by the Air Force Reserve.
• Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Sioux Gateway Airport", another name for SUX is "Colonel Bud Day Field".
• In July 2011, Delta Air Lines told the United States Department of Transportation that a weak economy and lower seat demand would force the company to reduce flights to several smaller communities including Sioux City unless it received assistance from the federal government.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.