Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Galle, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,185 miles (or 14,782 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Koggala 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Koggala 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 315,293 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 297,588 enplanements in 2009, and 316,478 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• Roanoke Regional saw 685,000 passengers in 2007, with 71 percent on-time departures and 68 percent on-time arrivals.
• Roanoke Regional Airport features a pair of runways originally completed in 1942.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• The current terminal building was designed by the Charlotte based architectural firm of Odell Associates and was built to serve as a replacement for the 1953 terminal, later demolished in 2005.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• In an effort to add more options for travelers in Roanoke, the airport added non-stop service to Orlando in May 2006 and Tampa in December 2006 with Allegiant Air.

Facts about Koggala Airport (KCT):

• After the Japanese occupied the Malay Peninsula in 1942, the QEA/Imperial Airways flight from London to Sydney lost Singapore, its refueling point between Calcutta and Perth, Western Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Koggala Airport", another name for KCT is "කොග්ගල ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• Koggala continued as a Sri Lanka Air Force base.
• The closest airport to Koggala Airport (KCT) is Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of KCT.
• The furthest airport from Koggala Airport (KCT) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,683 miles (18,802 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Prior to the Second World War, the lake at Koggala was used for seaplanes.
• Because of Koggala Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Koggala 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.