Nonstop flight route between Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RML to ASI:
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- About this route
- RML Airport Information
- ASI Airport Information
- Facts about RML
- Facts about ASI
- Map of Nearest Airports to RML
- List of Nearest Airports to RML
- Map of Furthest Airports from RML
- List of Furthest Airports from RML
- Map of Nearest Airports to ASI
- List of Nearest Airports to ASI
- Map of Furthest Airports from ASI
- List of Furthest Airports from ASI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,575 miles (or 10,581 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 Ratmalana Airport and RAF Ascension, 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 Ratmalana Airport and RAF Ascension. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RML / VCCC |
Airport Names: |
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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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ASI / FHAW |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena |
GPS Coordinates: | 7°58'9"S by 14°23'38"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from ASI |
More Information: | ASI Maps & Info |
Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):
- In the 1950s, BOAC flew Canadair Argonauts from Ratmalana to London.
- 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".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):
- In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
- The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
- RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic Air Bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
- The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.
- The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
- The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.