Nonstop flight route between Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Bossier City, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD), Bossier City, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,687 miles (or 15,589 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 Barksdale Air Force Base, 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 Barksdale Air Force Base. 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 Ratmalana Airport (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 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 airport is much closer to the Colombo city center compared to the larger Bandaranaike International Airport which is 32 km north of the city.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• Ratmalana airport at one time had the country's main air terminal, with the Douglas DC-3 Dakota and Lockheed Constellation aeroplanes of Air Ceylon flying out of it.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• In 1964, the government decided to build the new Bandaranaike International Airport north of the city, to replace Ratmalana.

Facts about Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD):

• In addition to being known as "Barksdale Air Force Base", another name for BAD is "Barksdale AFB".
• By the mid-1930s, Barksdale Field was the headquarters and main base of the 3rd Attack Wing, equipped with the Curtiss A-12 and Northrop A-17.
• Barksdale Field was renamed Barksdale Air Force Base on 13 January 1948, with the designation of the United States Air Force as a separate service in 1947.
• The furthest airport from Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,884 miles (17,516 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The name of the airfield was changed to Barksdale Air Force Base on 13 February 1948, concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch.
• The 47th Bomb Wing was assigned to NATO and was reassigned first to Langley AFB in March 1951, then afterwards to RAF Sculthorpe, England, arriving in the UK on 1 May 1951.
• The closest airport to Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) WNW of BAD.
• The 2d Bomb Wing conducts the primary mission of Barksdale AFB with three squadrons of B-52H Stratofortress bombers – the 11th Bomb Squadron, which is the training squadron, the 20th Bomb Squadron and the 96th Bomb Squadron.
• Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 4.72 miles east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.