Nonstop flight route between Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ), Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,900 miles (or 9,495 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 Santiago de Compostela 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 Santiago de Compostela 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 Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ):

• The Old terminal at Santiago de Compostela airport opened in 1969 and had lots of expansions during its lifetime.
• The airport was set up by a group of aviation enthusiasts in October 1932 and two months directors were chosen to select where the airport was going to be built.
• Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Santiago de Compostela Airport", another name for SCQ is "Aeroporto de Santiago de Compostela".
• The closest airport to Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) N of SCQ.
• Additionally, criticism has faced the high cost of constructing a new terminal building, 230 million euros, while the old terminal currently sits shuttered and unused.
• The furthest airport from Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ) is Hokitika Airport (HKK), which is nearly antipodal to Santiago de Compostela Airport (meaning Santiago de Compostela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hokitika Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Hokitika, New Zealand.
• Santiago de Compostela Airport handled 2,194,611 passengers last year.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open on 18 March 2013.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• A new aerodrome designed to meet the ICAO specification for code 4F is to be built.