Nonstop flight route between El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN), El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,239 miles (or 8,431 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 Barcelona–El Prat Airport and King Shaka International, 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 Barcelona–El Prat Airport and King Shaka International. 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 Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN):

• The airport is the subject of a political discussion over management and control between the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Spanish Government, which has involved AENA and various airlines, Iberia and Spanair mainly.
• The Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona public bus line 46 runs from Plaça Espanya.
• The furthest airport from Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (meaning Barcelona–El Prat Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,248 miles (19,711 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Sabadell Airport (QSA), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) N of BCN.
• Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) has 3 runways.
• Due to the strong drop in air traffic after 1999 and the crisis in the aviation sector in 2001 many charter operations from Girona and Reus were diverted to El Prat, which helped the airport to survive the crisis.
• Because of Barcelona–El Prat Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Barcelona–El Prat 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.
• Most of the traffic at Barcelona Airport is domestic and European, in which Vueling has an operational base.
• In addition to being known as "Barcelona–El Prat Airport", another name for BCN is "Aeroport de Barcelona–El Prat".
• The airport is the second largest in Spain behind Madrid Barajas Airport and 31st busiest in the world, and is the main airport of Catalonia.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• Because of King Shaka International's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at King Shaka International 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from King Shaka International (DUR) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,682 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
• The largest aircraft KSIA currently has scheduled services for is the Boeing 777-300ER, with Emirates operating Dubai–Durban, despite the fact that KSIA's runway length and terminal were designed to theoretically handle regular large airliners.
• The cargo terminal is located to the north of the passenger terminal, and is in the approximate centre of the airport precinct.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.