Nonstop flight route between Nadi, Fiji and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nadi International Airport (NAN), Nadi, Fiji and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,765 miles (or 10,887 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 Nadi International 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 Nadi International 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 Nadi International Airport (NAN):

• Then, as now, Fiji was the crossroads of the Pacific – and in those days was even more important as a refuelling stop.
• The closest airport to Nadi International Airport (NAN) is Mana Island Airport (MNF), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) WNW of NAN.
• In 2008, a Qantas Airbus A380 had to make an emergency landing to disembark a sick passenger, showing that whilst not certified, the facilities at Nadi are sufficient to cater for the largest civilian aeroplane in the world.
• The Civil Aviation Authority of the Fiji Islands head office is at Nadi Airport.Air Pacific has its head office in the Air Pacific Maintenance & Administration Centre at the airport.
• Arrivals and departures are much preferred to be to the south, due to the closeness of the Sabeto mountain range to the immediate north of the airport.
• Nadi International Airport (NAN) has 2 runways.
• The airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces when the Pacific War began in 1941, as USAAF Nandi.
• During the first half of the 1960s, Nadi served as a key airport for transfer of passengers from Auckland's Whenuapai airport which could only take turboprop and piston aeroplanes, onto the new DC-8s and Boeing 707s bound for North America and Europe.
• The original airstrips at Nadi were built by New Zealand from August 1939, being completed in March 1940, and were paid for by the British colonial authorities.
• Because of Nadi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Nadi 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.
• Today, the largest concentration of hotels in Fiji has grown up in and around Nadi.
• The furthest airport from Nadi International Airport (NAN) is Timbuktu Airport (TOM), which is nearly antipodal to Nadi International Airport (meaning Nadi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Timbuktu Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,891 kilometers) away in Timbuktu, Mali.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• On March 2013, it was reported that certifications of compliance and certification of aerodrome was awarded to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
• 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.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• The new international airport is expected to expand the local aviation industry whilst being a catalyst for the country's economic development enabling international trade, tourism, vocational training and employment.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of 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.