Nonstop flight route between Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CNS to PZB:
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- About this route
- CNS Airport Information
- PZB Airport Information
- Facts about CNS
- Facts about PZB
- Map of Nearest Airports to CNS
- List of Nearest Airports to CNS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CNS
- List of Furthest Airports from CNS
- Map of Nearest Airports to PZB
- List of Nearest Airports to PZB
- Map of Furthest Airports from PZB
- List of Furthest Airports from PZB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), Pietermaritzburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,066 miles (or 11,371 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 Cairns Airport and Pietermaritzburg 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 Cairns Airport and Pietermaritzburg Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CNS / YBCS |
Airport Name: | Cairns Airport |
Location: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°53'12"S by 145°45'17"E |
Area Served: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | North Queensland Airports Group |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CNS |
More Information: | CNS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PZB / FAPM |
Airport Name: | Pietermaritzburg Airport |
Location: | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°38'48"S by 30°23'53"E |
Area Served: | Pietermaritzburg |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2423 feet (739 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PZB |
More Information: | PZB Maps & Info |
Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):
- Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport.
- The furthest airport from Cairns Airport (CNS) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,832 miles (19,041 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
- The airport has two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
- Because of Cairns Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns 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.
- Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB):
- Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,706 miles (18,839 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) is King Shaka International (DUR), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of PZB.