Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Jaffna, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom and Jaffna Airport (JAF), Jaffna, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,283 miles (or 8,503 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 London Heathrow Airport and Jaffna 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 London Heathrow Airport and Jaffna 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 London Heathrow Airport (LHR):

• The furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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.
• With only two runways, operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the increasing use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 will allow some increase in passenger numbers.
• Of Heathrow's 69 million passengers in 2011, 7% were bound for UK destinations, 41% were short-haul international travellers and 52% were long-haul.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• The airport holds a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence, which allows flights for public transportation of passengers or for flying instruction.
• The original 1950s red-brick control tower was demolished in early 2013 to enable access roads for the new Terminal 2 to be laid.
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.

Facts about Jaffna Airport (JAF):

• A Sri Lanka Air Force detachment moved onto the site around 1976.
• In addition to being known as "Jaffna Airport", another name for JAF is "யாழ்ப்பாணம் விமான நிலையம்යාපනය ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• Because of Jaffna Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Jaffna 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 Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,511 miles (18,525 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), which is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) SSE of JAF.
• Jaffna Airport is an air force base and domestic airport in Palaly in northern Sri Lanka.
• Jaffna Airport (JAF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Civilian flights resumed from the airport in 2002 after the Norwegian facilitated ceasefire.