Nonstop flight route between San Antonio, Texas, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF), San Antonio, Texas, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,972 miles (or 16,048 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF):

• On 1 February 1953 the 741st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated at Lackland 29°23′16.4″N 98°37′59.9″W / 29.387889°N 98.633306°W / 29.387889.
• Lackland is best known for its role in being the sole location for U.S.
• By late 1959 Lackland was also performing air-traffic-control duties for the Federal Aviation Administration.
• Lackland now consists of the Kelly airstrip, Security Hill, main base Lackland, and the old Medina officer training base now named Medina/Lackland Training Annex.
• Construction on Lackland Air Force Base began on 15 Jun, 1941, and it was originally part of Kelly Field.
• The closest airport to Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF) is Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of SKF.
• Lackland, like many other Air Education and Training Command bases, trains enlisted airmen out of basic training in a specific specialty via various "tech schools." Lackland currently has six technical training squadrons on base training multiple airmen in various Air Force Specialty Codes.
• The furthest airport from Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,124 miles (17,902 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• On October 2012, the Super King 20 Test Aircraft, which belongs to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Department and features a dual engine, landed on the new runway to test the newly constructed runway and the instrumentation.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• The terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• 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.
• The second stage of the HIA project expansion works at the airport is to be completed by 2015.
• As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013.