Nonstop flight route between Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newcastle Airport (NCL), Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,578 miles (or 8,977 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 Newcastle 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 Newcastle 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 Newcastle Airport (NCL):

• Newcastle Airport (NCL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Newcastle Airport handled 4,420,839 passengers last year.
• Airport station on the Tyne and Wear Metro is directly connected to the terminal through an indoor walkway.
• Rapid expansion in passenger traffic has led to increasing commercial utilisation of the south-side of the airport, which was previously used for general aviation, and is now used for freight, mail and corporate flights.
• The furthest airport from Newcastle Airport (NCL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,722 miles (18,864 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• There are two hotels on the Airport site and two near by.
• The airport is owned by seven local authorities and AMP Capital.
• Because of Newcastle Airport's relatively low elevation of 266 feet, planes can take off or land at Newcastle 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.
• In 2006 a record 5.4 million passengers used the Airport, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NCL) is Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SSE of NCL.

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.
• The Runway dimensions are 3500m * 60m with 7.5m paved shoulders either side and 260m Runway safety area on both runway ends.
• 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 closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• 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 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open on 18 March 2013.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.