Nonstop flight route between Jaffna, Sri Lanka and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jaffna Airport (JAF), Jaffna, Sri Lanka and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,854 miles (or 14,249 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 Jaffna Airport and San Francisco 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 Jaffna Airport and San Francisco 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 Jaffna Airport (JAF):

• The furthest airport from Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,511 miles (18,525 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Jaffna Airport (JAF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The inaugural flight by Air Ceylon on 10 December 1947 was from Ratmalana Airport to Madras via Kankesanthurai.
• In addition to being known as "Jaffna Airport", another name for JAF is "யாழ்ப்பாணம் விமான நிலையம்යාපනය ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• Because of Jaffna Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Jaffna 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 Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), which is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) SSE of JAF.

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• San Francisco International Airport is an international airport located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, California, near Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• SFO is the largest airport in the Bay Area and the second busiest in California, after Los Angeles International Airport.
• The airport closed following the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, reopening the following morning.
• Since the mid-2000s recovery at SFO has been evident.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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 airport opened on May 7, 1927, on 150 acres of cow pasture.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers operate from Boarding Area A.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.