Nonstop flight route between Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,763 miles (or 15,712 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 Peter O. Knight 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 Peter O. Knight 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):

• 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.
• Ratmalana airport was declared open for small international commercial flights.
• On 11 August 1952, 3 months after the inaugural service of a passenger jet aircraft, BOAC began its Comet service between Colombo and London.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 (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.

Facts about Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF):

• The local fixed base operator was recently sold by Tampa Flying Service and is now operated by Atlas Aviation.
• The furthest airport from Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,440 miles (18,411 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• During World War II, the airport was used as an auxiliary fighter landing field for several Army airfields including, Clearwater.
• Because of Peter O. Knight Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Peter O. Knight 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.
• Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF) has 2 runways.
• The extension of the north/east and south/west ends had been completed in 2008 with no noticeable impact to the local area.
• The closest airport to Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF) is MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TPF.