Nonstop flight route between Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,957 miles (or 14,415 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 Washington Dulles International Airport and Ratmalana 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 Washington Dulles International Airport and Ratmalana 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 Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD):

• In September 2009, a 121,700 square feet central Transportation Security Administration checkpoint was added on a new security mezzanine level of the main terminal.
• Loudoun County Transit provides a bus service which runs from the Dulles Town Center shopping center, to the airport, then to the Steven F.
• A new train system, dubbed AeroTrain and developed by Mitsubishi, began in 2010 to transport passengers between the concourses and the main terminal.
• The closest airport to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NNW of IAD.
• Because of Washington Dulles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 313 feet, planes can take off or land at Washington Dulles 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.
• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) has 5 runways.
• The furthest airport from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,659 miles (18,763 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The main terminal was extended in 1996 to 1,240 feet —Saarinen's original design length—which was slightly more than double its originally constructed length of 600 feet.
• United Airlines maintains one of two East Coast hubs at Dulles which handled 56.7% of scheduled air carrier passengers at the airport.JetBlue handled 6.8% of scheduled air carrier passengers.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• The furthest airport from Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,628 miles (18,713 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• There are currently 2 terminals at the airport.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ratmalana Airport, is one of the two international airports serving the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the other being Bandaranaike International Airport.
• In 1964, the government decided to build the new Bandaranaike International Airport north of the city, to replace Ratmalana.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• Because of Ratmalana Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratmalana 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.