Nonstop flight route between Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCB to RML:
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- About this route
- RCB Airport Information
- RML Airport Information
- Facts about RCB
- Facts about RML
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCB
- List of Nearest Airports to RCB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCB
- List of Furthest Airports from RCB
- Map of Nearest Airports to RML
- List of Nearest Airports to RML
- Map of Furthest Airports from RML
- List of Furthest Airports from RML
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,018 miles (or 6,466 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 Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay Airport and Ratmalana Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCB / FARB |
Airport Name: | Richards Bay Airport |
Location: | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°44'26"S by 32°5'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | uMhlathuze Local Municipality |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 109 feet (33 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCB |
More Information: | RCB Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RML / VCCC |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ratmalana, Sri Lanka |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°49'19"N by 79°53'10"E |
Area Served: | Colombo |
Operator/Owner: | Sri Lankan Government |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 16 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RML |
More Information: | RML Maps & Info |
Facts about Richards Bay Airport (RCB):
- Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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.
- Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
- The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):
- In 2012, plans were drawn to relaunch Ratmalana as an international airport, to act as a secondary airport for the city.
- 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.
- The airport is much closer to the Colombo city center compared to the larger Bandaranaike International Airport which is 32 km north of the city.
- The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
- In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
- 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.
- Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.