Nonstop flight route between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and Colombo, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,819 miles (or 14,193 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 Philadelphia International Airport 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 Philadelphia International Airport 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 Philadelphia International Airport (PHL):

• SEPTA operates regional rail service between the airport and Center City Philadelphia via the Airport Line with stops at University City, Amtrak's 30th Street, Suburban, and Market East Stations.
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has 4 runways.
• US Airways became the dominant carrier at PHL during the 1980s and 1990s and shifted most of its hub operations from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 2003.
• The April 1957 OAG shows 30 weekday departures on Eastern, 24 TWA, 24 United, 18 American, 16 National, 14 Capital, 6 Allegheny and 3 Delta.
• The closest airport to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is Philadelphia Seaplane BaseChandler Field (PSQ), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) WSW of PHL.
• The furthest airport from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,734 miles (18,884 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Philadelphia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Philadelphia 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.
• In 1947 and 1950 the airport had runways 4, 9, 12 and 17, all of 5400 ft or less.
• Such growth has not come without difficulties.
• With 460,779 aircraft movements in 2010, Philadelphia International Airport ranks 12th busiest in the world in terms of aircraft movements.
• Terminal B/C modernization was completed in 1970, Terminal D opened in 1973 and Terminal E in 1977.

Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• The airport is used by Emirates as an alternative emergency airport for its Airbus A380 aircraft.
• As part of the airport development program, a passenger train service was launched between the Airport and Colombo Secretariat Station, in June 2010.
• Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, Sri Lanka, is 30 kilometers north of the island nation's capital of Colombo.
• The airport began as a Royal Air Force airfield in 1944 during the Second World War, RAF Station Negombo
• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• The airport is undergoing resurfacing of its runway.
• 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.
• 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".
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• 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.