Nonstop flight route between Arua, Uganda and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Arua Airport (RUA), Arua, Uganda and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,464 miles (or 5,574 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 Arua Airport and Mattala Rajapaksa International 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 Arua Airport and Mattala Rajapaksa International 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 Arua Airport (RUA):

• Arua Airport (RUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Arua Airport (RUA) is Kabalega Falls Airport (KBG), which is located 64 miles (103 kilometers) SE of RUA.
• In July 2009 the Civil Aviation Authority of Uganda, which owns and operates Arua Airport, publicly announced that it had started to upgrade the airport to International standards.
• The furthest airport from Arua Airport (RUA) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,769 miles (18,940 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• Because of Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 157 feet, planes can take off or land at Mattala Rajapaksa International 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,719 miles (18,860 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• It was initially planned to build an international airport serving the south of Sri Lanka at Weerawila, but the plans were scrapped due to environmental concerns.
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• The air traffic control tower of height 41m has been constructed at the highest elevation of the aerodrome.
• Domestic carriers Helitours and Cinnamon Air offer charter flights that connect the airport with Ratmalana Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.