Nonstop flight route between Salem, Illinois, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO), Salem, Illinois, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,268 miles (or 14,915 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 Salem–Leckrone 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 Salem–Leckrone 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 Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO):

• Salem–Leckrone Airport covers an area of 364 acres at an elevation of 573 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Salem–Leckrone Airport's relatively low elevation of 573 feet, planes can take off or land at Salem–Leckrone 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 closest airport to Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO) is Mt. Vernon Airport (MVN), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSE of SLO.
• Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,062 miles (17,802 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

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.
• The new international airport is expected to expand the local aviation industry whilst being a catalyst for the country's economic development enabling international trade, tourism, vocational training and employment.
• 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 numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• The closest airport to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) is Weerawila Airport (WRZ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of HRI.
• 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 air traffic control tower of height 41m has been constructed at the highest elevation of the aerodrome.
• On 16 October 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air registered AP-CAB, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan landed on runway 23 at 12.38 PM local time becoming the first aircraft to land at the new airport as requested by the Rajapaksa regime.
• 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 terminal building will be of area 12,000m2 with the capacity to handle 1,000,000 passengers per annum.
• This project will have two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of October 2012.
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".