Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Colombo, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Jacksonville (NIP), Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,577 miles (or 15,413 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 NAS Jacksonville 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 NAS Jacksonville 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 NAS Jacksonville (NIP):

• The closest airport to NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (CRG), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NE of NIP.
• In the mid-1950s, an air traffic control center for joint use by the Navy, Air Force, and Civil Aeronautics Administration was approved and completed at a cost of $325,000.
• The furthest airport from NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,460 miles (18,444 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Increased training and construction characterized NAS Jacksonville’s response to America’s entry into World War II.
• NAS Jacksonville (NIP) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Jacksonville", another name for NIP is "Towers Field".
• Support facilities include an additional outlying field for pilot training, a maintenance depot employing more than 150 different trade skills capable of performing maintenance as basic as changing a tire to intricate micro-electronics or total engine disassembly, a Naval Hospital, a Fleet Industrial Supply Center, a Navy Family Service Center, a DeCA commissary, Navy Exchange, and recreational facilities for both single sailors and families of the Active, Reserve and Retired military communities.
• Force reductions in the 1990s and early 2000s eliminated several P-3C squadrons and SH-60F/HH-60H squadrons at NAS Jacksonville, while the BRAC-directed closure of nearby NAS Cecil Field resulted in the relocation of Sea Control Wing ONE and its multiple Sea Control Squadrons operating the S-3 Viking until that aircraft's retirement from the active Fleet in 2008.
• In 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station’s primary mission became antisubmarine warfare.
• Because of NAS Jacksonville's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Jacksonville 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.

Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• The second phase of the expansion project is being carried out with Japanese assistance and is expected to be completed by 2015.
• 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.
• 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.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• A new split-level passenger terminal building which separates arrivals and departures vertically, a new pier with eight boarding gates and 14 passenger boarding bridges with a dedicated gate comprising two passenger boarding bridges for the operations of the new Airbus A380, will be included in the proposed new complex.
• On 7 May 2007 the Sri Lankan Government decided to shift some military aviation operations out of the space adjoining the airport to SLAF Hingurakgoda, thus paving the way for more civilian operations.
• The airport is used by Emirates as an alternative emergency airport for its Airbus A380 aircraft.
• Bandaranaike International Airport is equipped with 6 double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing Airbus A380 service.
• The airport began as a Royal Air Force airfield in 1944 during the Second World War, RAF Station Negombo