Nonstop flight route between Lympne, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lympne Airport (LYM), Lympne, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,369 miles (or 8,641 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 Lympne 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 Lympne 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 Lympne Airport (LYM):

• In addition to being known as "Lympne Airport", another name for LYM is "Ashford Airport".
• In May 1921, it was reported that a waiting room for the use of passengers at Lympne was being planned.
• During the General Strike of 1926, which ran from 3–13 May, the Daily Mail was printed in Paris and flown from there to Lympne on Handley Page W.10 Imperial Airways aircraft.
• Lympne returned to civilian use on 1 January 1946.
• The furthest airport from Lympne Airport (LYM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Lympne Airport (LYM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lympne Airport's relatively low elevation of 351 feet, planes can take off or land at Lympne 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 Lympne Airport (LYM) is Lydd International Airport (LYX), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSW of LYM.
• In January 1934, a new radio, telegraph and telephone link was installed at Lympne and St Inglevert which came into operation on 26 January.
• On 12 March 1938, Captain Davis, managing director of the Cinque Ports Flying Club, was killed in an accident shortly after take-off from Lympne.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• Ratmalana airport at one time had the country's main air terminal, with the Douglas DC-3 Dakota and Lockheed Constellation aeroplanes of Air Ceylon flying out of it.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• There are currently 2 terminals at the airport.
• The airport is much closer to the Colombo city center compared to the larger Bandaranaike International Airport which is 32 km north of the city.
• 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.
• In 1934 the State Council of Ceylon made a decision to construct an aerodrome within reach of the capital city of Colombo and decided on Ratmalana as the best site.
• 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.