Nonstop flight route between Galle, Sri Lanka and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,384 miles (or 15,102 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 Palmdale Regional 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 Palmdale Regional 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 Government of Sri Lanka expects to upgrade the Koggala airport to international standards as an alternative airport to the BIA.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Koggala Airport", another name for KCT is "කොග්ගල ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• The closest airport to Koggala Airport (KCT) is Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of KCT.
• Koggala Airport in Sri Lanka was originally a Royal Air Force Station RAF Koggala.
• 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.
• Prior to the Second World War, the lake at Koggala was used for seaplanes.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• From 1970 to 1983 the Los Angeles Department of Airports, now called Los Angeles World Airports, acquired about 17,750 acres of land east and south of United States Air Force Plant 42 in unincorporated Los Angeles County to be developed into the future "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport," an alternative to LAX.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• During the 1990s, airlines operated out of the Palmdale Regional Airport, which consisted of the terminal and parking lot on leased land.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
• Both the Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• The airport covers 5,832 acres at an elevation of 2,543 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.