Nonstop flight route between Galle, Sri Lanka and Norfolk, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka and Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,108 miles (or 14,659 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 Naval Station Norfolk, 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 Naval Station Norfolk. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• After the Japanese occupied the Malay Peninsula in 1942, the QEA/Imperial Airways flight from London to Sydney lost Singapore, its refueling point between Calcutta and Perth, Western Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Koggala Airport", another name for KCT is "කොග්ගල ගුවන්තොටුපළ".

Facts about Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• Construction of the training camp began on Independence Day 1917, and within the first 30 days housing for 7,500 men had been completed.
• In July 1940, the Federal government began dredging Willoughby Bay and the Naval Air Station seaplane operating area at Breezy Point, Virginia was constructed from reclaimed marshlands at the mouth of Mason Creek, Virginia.
• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".
• During the 1920s and '30s the Naval Station operated at a reduced operating tempo.
• East Camp, with an area of about 1,000 acres between the east side of Naval Station and Granby Street, had been sold off by the Army at the end of World War I.
• The land on which the naval station is located was originally the site of the 1907 Jamestown Exposition.
• NAS Norfolk started its roots training aviators at Naval Air Detachment, Curtiss Field, Newport News, on May 19, 1917.
• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• A new command, Naval Air Center, had been formed October 12, 1942 under Captain J.M.