Nonstop flight route between Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-Cities area), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI), Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-Cities area), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,296 miles (or 14,960 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 Tri-Cities Regional 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 Tri-Cities Regional 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):

• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on 18 March 2013 and commenced operations with the landing of a SriLankan Airlines special Airbus A340 flight named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' with the President on board.
• 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 closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• Hambantota International Airport will include domestic/regional and international passenger and cargo terminals, warehouses, as well as being compatible for seaplane/amphibious operations etc.
• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Hambantota in southeast Sri Lanka.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI):

• The closest airport to Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) is Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) NE of TRI.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 202,730 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 217,783 in 2009 and 202,114 in 2010.
• In the mid-1930s Johnson City’s airfield and Kingsport’s airstrip were deemed not practical for expansion.
• Tri-Cities Regional Airport covers 1,225 acres at an elevation of 1,519 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Tri-Cities Regional Airport", another name for TRI is "Tri-Cities Regional Airport, TN/VA".
• The furthest airport from Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,434 miles (18,402 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) has 2 runways.