Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,482 miles (or 15,260 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 San Diego International Airport and Ratmalana 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 San Diego International Airport and Ratmalana 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 San Diego International Airport (SAN):

• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• The original terminal was on the north side of the airport and was used until the 1960s.
• British Airways resumed nonstop service to London Heathrow Airport on June 1, 2011 with Boeing 777-200ERs.
• Pacific Southwest Airlines established its headquarters in San Diego and started service at Lindbergh Field in 1949.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Convair had aircraft manufacturing plants near the field and used it for test and delivery flights from 1935 to 1995.
• The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• Terrain east and west of the airport greatly impacts the available runway length.
• The furthest airport from San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego 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.
• The top five airlines by market share in 2011 are Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.
• Runway 27, is a localizer-only approach and is unusable for landing when visibility drops below about 2 miles.
• Landing at the airport from the east offers closeup views of skyscrapers, Petco Park, and the Coronado Bridge from the left side of the aircraft.

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.
• 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 (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1964, the government decided to build the new Bandaranaike International Airport north of the city, to replace Ratmalana.