Nonstop flight route between Koné, New Caledonia and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koné Airport (KNQ), Koné, New Caledonia and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,972 miles (or 9,611 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 Koné Airport and Mattala Rajapaksa International 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 Koné Airport and Mattala Rajapaksa International 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 Koné Airport (KNQ):

• Because of Koné Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Koné 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.
• Koné Airport (KNQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Koné Airport (KNQ) is Akjoujt Airport (AJJ), which is nearly antipodal to Koné Airport (meaning Koné Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Akjoujt Airport), and is located 12,333 miles (19,847 kilometers) away in Akjoujt, Mauritania.
• The closest airport to Koné Airport (KNQ) is Koumac Airport (KOC), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NW of KNQ.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• It was initially planned to build an international airport serving the south of Sri Lanka at Weerawila, but the plans were scrapped due to environmental concerns.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• Hambantota International Airport will include domestic/regional and international passenger and cargo terminals, warehouses, as well as being compatible for seaplane/amphibious operations etc.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• On 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open on 18 March 2013.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Because of Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 157 feet, planes can take off or land at Mattala Rajapaksa International 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 furthest airport from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,719 miles (18,860 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.