Nonstop flight route between St. Louis, Missouri, United States and Hambantota, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, United States and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), Hambantota, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,278 miles (or 14,931 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 Lambert–St. Louis International 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 Lambert–St. Louis International 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 Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL):

• In 1982, Trans World Airlines moved its hub from Kansas City International Airport.
• In the late 1920s, Lambert Field became the first airport with an air traffic control system—albeit one that communicated with pilots via waving flags.
• In early October 2009, Southwest Airlines announced the addition of 6 daily flights to several cities it already served from St.
• By September 2002, Lambert's passenger traffic had declined by 16.9% from before the terrorist attacks a year earlier, which was the 8th biggest percentage drop of the major US airports.
• The closest airport to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), which is located only 16 miles (27 kilometers) SE of STL.
• Because of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 605 feet, planes can take off or land at Lambert–St. Louis 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.
• Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,986 miles (17,681 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI):

• The air traffic control tower of height 41m has been constructed at the highest elevation of the aerodrome.
• The numbers given to the airport's sole runway is 05 and 23.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport", another name for HRI is "මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළமத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.