Nonstop flight route between Lisbon, Portugal and Colombo, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS), Lisbon, Portugal and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,855 miles (or 9,423 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 Lisbon Portela Airport and Bandaranaike 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 Lisbon Portela Airport and Bandaranaike 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 Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS):

• A major upgrade in 1959–62 included a new runway capable of taking the first generation jets, Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.
• ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal has its head office in Building 120.
• At the end of the war the airport developed quickly and by 1946 was used by major airlines like Air France, British European Airways, Iberia, KLM, Sabena, Pan Am and Trans World Airlines and by 1954 the number of passengers had reached 100,000.
• Terminal 2 is used by 4 scheduled low-cost flight airlines for departures to European, North Atlantic islands and North African destinations, while Terminal 1 handles all arrivals and regular scheduled and chartered flights from most major European and North American air carriers.
• The airport opened on 15 October 1942 during the Second World War.
• Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) has 2 runways.
• Lisbon Portela Airport handled 16,024,955 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Lisbon Portela Airport", another name for LIS is "Aeroporto da Portela".
• Because of Lisbon Portela Airport's relatively low elevation of 374 feet, planes can take off or land at Lisbon Portela 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 Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is Beja Airport (BYJ), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) SE of LIS.
• The furthest airport from Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is New Plymouth Airport (NPL), which is nearly antipodal to Lisbon Portela Airport (meaning Lisbon Portela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from New Plymouth Airport), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• On 26 July, The Criminal Investigations Department of Sri Lanka police set up a new security system at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake to identify criminals.
• The second phase of the expansion project is being carried out with Japanese assistance and is expected to be completed by 2015.
• In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Because of Bandaranaike International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bandaranaike 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.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• In the early 1990s the position of the airport's runway was shifted northward and the old runway was made into a taxiway for departing and arriving aircraft.
• The airport is undergoing resurfacing of its runway.
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,614 miles (18,691 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.