Nonstop flight route between Galle, Sri Lanka and Axum, Ethiopia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka and Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU), Axum, Ethiopia would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,877 miles (or 4,630 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 Koggala Airport and Axum Emperor Yohannes IV 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 Koggala Airport and Axum Emperor Yohannes IV 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 Koggala Airport (KCT):

• The closest airport to Koggala Airport (KCT) is Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of KCT.
• In addition to being known as "Koggala Airport", another name for KCT is "කොග්ගල ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• Koggala continued as a Sri Lanka Air Force base.
• The furthest airport from Koggala Airport (KCT) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,683 miles (18,802 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Because of Koggala Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Koggala 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.
• QEA and Imperial Airways flew Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats from Koggala lake to the Swan River at Perth, on what was at the time the world's longest non-stop air route.

Facts about Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU):

• The closest airport to Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU) is Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SE of AXU.
• In addition to being known as "Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport", another name for AXU is "የአክሱም ዮሃነስ አራት የአየር ማረፊያ".
• On 2 May 1987, Douglas C-47A ET-AGT of Ethiopian Airlines was destroyed on the ground in an attack on the airport by Ethiopian Air Force MiG-23s.
• Because of Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport's high elevation of 6,916 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AXU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AXU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (meaning Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,318 miles (19,824 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• The airport is named after Yohannes IV, the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1872 to 1889.