Nonstop flight route between San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,484 miles (or 15,264 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 Gillespie Field 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 Gillespie Field 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 Gillespie Field (SEE):

• In February 1944, the camp was commissioned as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Gillespie under the command of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
• Because of Gillespie Field's relatively low elevation of 388 feet, planes can take off or land at Gillespie Field 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 FAA says in 2010 Gillespie Field was the 44th busiest airport in the United States.
• Gillespie Field (SEE) has 3 runways.
• Gillespie Field is a county-owned public airport 10 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, in El Cajon, San Diego County, California.
• In 1942 the United States Marine Corps chose a 688-acre site east of San Diego for parachute training for the newly forming Parachute battalions.
• The closest airport to Gillespie Field (SEE) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of SEE.
• The furthest airport from Gillespie Field (SEE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,534 miles (18,562 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• 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.
• 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.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Hambantota in southeast Sri Lanka.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• 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.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.