Nonstop flight route between Galle, Sri Lanka and Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka and London Southend Airport (SEN), Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,449 miles (or 8,769 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 London Southend 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 London Southend 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 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about London Southend Airport (SEN):

• BKS commenced airline operations from Southend Airport in October 1951 as BKS Aero Charter with a Douglas DC-3.
• Southend Airport handles mainly scheduled passenger, charter and business flights, cargo flights, pilot training, and recreational flying.
• London Southend Airport handled 969,912 passengers last year.
• Annual passenger traffic first peaked in 1967, at 692,000.
• Southend Airport has an excellent weather record and is used by airlines as a diversion alternative when adverse weather or incidents close other London airports.
• The closest airport to London Southend Airport (SEN) is Rochester Airport (RCS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of SEN.
• London Southend Airport (SEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom.
• The furthest airport from London Southend Airport (SEN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,885 miles (19,126 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of London Southend Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at London Southend 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.