Nonstop flight route between Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and CFB Cold Lake (YOD), Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,166 miles (or 13,141 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 CFB Cold Lake, 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 CFB Cold Lake. 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):

• Ratmalana airport was declared open for small international commercial flights.
• 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.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about CFB Cold Lake (YOD):

• CFB Cold Lake (YOD) has 3 runways.
• Civilian passenger service was available through the Medley passenger terminal on the periphery of the air base.
• The furthest airport from CFB Cold Lake (YOD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,097 miles (16,250 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to CFB Cold Lake (YOD) is Bonnyville Airport (YBY), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) WSW of YOD.
• Cold Lake also hosts NATO flight training operating from 15 Wing Moose Jaw, as well as 5 Wing Goose Bay.
• During the 1980s, CFB Cold Lake was thrust into the international media spotlight when CLAWR was used as the target for testing of the newly developed AGM-86 air-launched cruise missiles by the USAF.
• In addition to being known as "CFB Cold Lake", another name for YOD is "Cold Lake/Group Captain R.W. McNair Airport".