Nonstop flight route between Galle, Sri Lanka and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,547 miles (or 8,927 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 RAF Brize Norton, 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 RAF Brize Norton. 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):

• Koggala Airport in Sri Lanka was originally a Royal Air Force Station RAF Koggala.
• Meanwhile, the tarmac surface of the land runway was developed.
• In addition to being known as "Koggala Airport", another name for KCT is "කොග්ගල ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Koggala Airport (KCT) is Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of KCT.
• 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.

Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):

• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• Major infrastructure redevelopment began in 2010 ahead of the closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012, at which point Brize Norton became the sole air point of embarkation for British troops.
• The station is home to the Administrative Wing, Airport of Embarkation Wing, Depth Support Wing, Forward Support Wing and Operations Wing.
• Following the Falklands War, the RAF found itself lacking in the strategic transport capabilities required to sustain the expanded military presence there.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• By 1950 the USAF Strategic Air Command was based at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham, and RAF Sculthorpe.
• 101 Squadron reformed at Brize Norton on 1 May 1984, it previously operated the Avro Vulcan and participated in the Operation Black Buck missions of the Falklands War.
• By March 2011, 70 buildings had been refurbished on the station.