Nonstop flight route between Jackson, Tennessee, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL), Jackson, Tennessee, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,471 miles (or 15,242 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 McKellar-Sipes Regional 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 McKellar-Sipes Regional 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 McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL):

• The airport opened in 1942 as McKellar Field and was assigned to the United States Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center as a primary pilot training airfield.
• The closest airport to McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) is Roscoe Turner Airport (CRX), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) SSE of MKL.
• The furthest airport from McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,072 miles (17,819 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airfield began training flying cadets under contract to Georgia Air Services, Inc.
• Because of McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at McKellar-Sipes Regional 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.
• McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) has 2 runways.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• 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.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on 18 March 2013 and commenced operations with the landing of a SriLankan Airlines special Airbus A340 flight named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' with the President on board.
• On October 2012, the Super King 20 Test Aircraft, which belongs to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Department and features a dual engine, landed on the new runway to test the newly constructed runway and the instrumentation.
• 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.
• On 16 October 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air registered AP-CAB, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan landed on runway 23 at 12.38 PM local time becoming the first aircraft to land at the new airport as requested by the Rajapaksa regime.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".