Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Colombo, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF), Berlin, Germany and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,844 miles (or 7,795 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 Berlin Tempelhof Airport and Bandaranaike 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 Berlin Tempelhof Airport and Bandaranaike 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 Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF):

• American Overseas Airlines, at the time the overseas division of American Airlines, inaugurated the first commercial air link serving Tempelhof after the war with a flight from New York via Shannon, Amsterdam and Frankfurt on 18 May 1946.
• The furthest airport from Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,687 miles (18,808 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Berlin Tempelhof Airport's relatively low elevation of 164 feet, planes can take off or land at Berlin Tempelhof 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 building complex was designed to resemble an eagle in flight with semicircular hangars forming the bird's spread wings.
• Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF) has 2 runways.
• The old terminal, originally constructed in 1927, became the world's first with an underground railway.
• The closest airport to Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NW of THF.
• Operation Vittles, as the airlift was unofficially named, began on 26 June when USAF Douglas C-47 Skytrains carried 80 tons of food into Tempelhof, far less than the estimated 4,500 tons of food, coal and other essential supplies needed daily to maintain a minimum level of existence.
• In addition to being known as "Berlin Tempelhof Airport", another name for THF is "Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof".
• Tempelhof's German commander, Oberst Rudolf Böttger, refused to carry out orders to blow up the base, choosing instead to kill himself.

Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• The furthest airport from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,614 miles (18,691 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• As part of the airport development program, a passenger train service was launched between the Airport and Colombo Secretariat Station, in June 2010.
• Once the Phase II is completed the airport will have 50 parking bays, including 17 in the proposed Apron Echo.
• It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.
• In 1957 it closed as the British left the island, and SWRD Bandaranaike removed all the British Military airfields from Ceylon, the airfield was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force and renamed Katunayake.
• In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The second stage will involve the acquisition of 600 hectares of public land, the construction of a runway capable of accommodating new-generation airplanes, an aircraft repair and maintenance center, an arrival and a departure terminal, a shopping arcade, a cargo complex connected to the airport by rail and a multistory car park.
• Because of Bandaranaike International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bandaranaike 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.
• Bandaranaike International Airport is one of the two international airports serving the city of Colombo, the other is Ratmalana Airport.