Nonstop flight route between Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and East London, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,384 miles (or 7,055 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 East London 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 Ratmalana Airport and East London 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 Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• 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.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the 1950s, BOAC flew Canadair Argonauts from Ratmalana to London.
• In addition to being known as "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• In 2012, plans were drawn to relaunch Ratmalana as an international airport, to act as a secondary airport for the city.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.

Facts about East London Airport (ELS):

• The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• East London Airport resides at an elevation of 435 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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.
• East London's airport is a small but bustling one that plays an important role in the growing economy of the Eastern Cape.
• The airport was renamed in 1994.
• The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
• East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
• In 1944 a new airport was built at Collondale, about 2 km west of the present terminal building.