Nonstop flight route between Chicago, Illinois, United States and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, United States and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,978 miles (or 14,449 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 Chicago O'Hare International 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 Chicago O'Hare International 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 Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD):

• Delta moved from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 in 2009 in order to align its operations with merger partner Northwest Airlines.
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) has 8 runways.
• Because of Chicago O'Hare International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago O'Hare 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.
• By the early 1950s, Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago's primary airport since 1931, had become too crowded despite multiple expansions and could not handle the planned first generation of jets.
• The furthest airport from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,071 miles (17,817 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Ground was broken for the main terminal complex April 1, 1959.
• The closest airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) N of ORD.
• Concourses B and C are linear concourses located in separate buildings parallel to each other.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the 1950s, BOAC flew Canadair Argonauts from Ratmalana to London.
• On 11 August 1952, 3 months after the inaugural service of a passenger jet aircraft, BOAC began its Comet service between Colombo and London.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• 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 addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• 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.