Nonstop flight route between Battle Creek, Michigan, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between W. K. Kellogg Airport (BTL), Battle Creek, Michigan, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,856 miles (or 14,253 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 W. K. Kellogg 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 W. K. Kellogg 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 W. K. Kellogg Airport (BTL):

• The furthest airport from W. K. Kellogg Airport (BTL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,193 miles (18,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In May 2010, construction began on a new $7.2 million, 4,100 feet long by 75 feet wide runway parallel to existing runway 5/23.
• Because of W. K. Kellogg Airport's relatively low elevation of 952 feet, planes can take off or land at W. K. Kellogg 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 W. K. Kellogg Airport (BTL) is Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) WSW of BTL.
• W. K. Kellogg Airport (BTL) has 3 runways.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• 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.
• 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 project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• The arrivals area is located on the lower floor, with a baggage reclaim hall containing 5 conveyors that can be allocated between domestic and international use.
• 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.
• Despite wide expectations that the airport would be named "King Shaka International Airport", it emerged in October 2009 that the airport needed to undergo a formal naming process.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.