Nonstop flight route between Ciudad Real, Spain and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), Ciudad Real, Spain and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,243 miles (or 8,437 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 Ciudad Real Central 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 Ciudad Real Central 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 Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM):

• The furthest airport from Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM) is Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō (TUO), which is nearly antipodal to Ciudad Real Central Airport (meaning Ciudad Real Central Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō), and is located 12,428 miles (20,001 kilometers) away in Taupo, New Zealand.
• Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM) currently has only 1 runway.
• An episode of Top Gear aired on 14 July 2013 featuring Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond visiting the empty terminal building during a "budget convertible" challenge in Spain and racing a McLaren MP4-12C Spider, Audi R8 V10 Spider and Ferrari 458 Spider on the closed runway while being amazed at finding the entire airport deserted.
• In addition to being known as "Ciudad Real Central Airport", other names for CQM include "Aeropuerto Central Ciudad Real" and "CQM [1]".
• In April 2012, the airport was closed after just three years in operation, its management company having gone into receivership.
• International flights to the airport began in June 2010, but by October that year all international routes were cancelled, and the airport filed for bankruptcy with more than 300 million euro of debt.
• The closest airport to Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM) is Córdoba Airport (ODB), which is located 84 miles (136 kilometers) SW of CQM.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• 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.
• One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB.
• On 27 January 2014 the worlds largest passenger aircraft, an Airbus A380-800 of British Airways landed at KSIA becoming the first A380 to do so.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• As a result, a study into the risks of bird strikes at KSIA was commissioned, with special attention being paid to the Barn Swallows at Mount Moreland.