Nonstop flight route between Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between City of Derry Airport (LDY), Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,716 miles (or 9,198 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 City of Derry Airport and Ratmalana 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 City of Derry Airport and Ratmalana 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 City of Derry Airport (LDY):

• The furthest airport from City of Derry Airport (LDY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,838 miles (19,051 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of City of Derry Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at City of Derry 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.
• A major redevelopment programme was undertaken by the Council from 1989 to 1993 with grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund.
• In mid-2009 work commenced on dualling the A2 from Maydown to Eglinton and the airport, which now provides a high speed dual carriageway connection to the city.
• As of April 2010, it has been reported that the airport has emerged from passenger recession, with passenger numbers released for February of the same year showing an increase over that of the same period for the year before.
• City of Derry Airport (LDY) currently has only 1 runway.
• In January 2009 the council appointed Albert Harrison, the former head of Belfast International Airport, as the new manager of the airport.
• After the war the base remained a military establishment until the 1950s when the Ministry of Defence returned much of the land to the original landowners.
• In addition to being known as "City of Derry Airport", another name for LDY is "Londonderry/Eglinton Airport[1]".
• The closest airport to City of Derry Airport (LDY) is Belfast International Airport (BFS), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SE of LDY.
• City of Derry Airport handled 384,973 passengers last year.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• Ratmalana airport was declared open for small international commercial flights.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• The furthest airport from Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,628 miles (18,713 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Because of Ratmalana Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratmalana 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.
• During the Second World War it was used as a Royal Air Force base, with No 30 Squadron flying Hawker Hurricanes from there against Japanese Navy aircraft.