Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ambon, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ), Ambon, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,509 miles (or 10,476 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 King Shaka International and Pattimura Airport (PTA), 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 King Shaka International and Pattimura Airport (PTA). 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 King Shaka International (DUR):

• 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.
• King Shaka International Airport was first conceptualised in the 1970s, with construction beginning in 1973.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• The final obstacle was a delay in the approval of the project's Environmental Impact Assessment by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ):

• Currently there are no regularly scheduled international flights to or from Ambon, so the international terminal is used for domestic flights with that come in with larger airplanes and can make use of the 2 jet bridges for easier loading and unloading of the airplanes – especially when it is raining.
• Pattimura Airport (PTA) handled 818 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ) is Amahai Airport (AHI), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) ENE of AMQ.
• The cargo terminal is 1,192 m2.
• The furthest airport from Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is nearly antipodal to Pattimura Airport (PTA) (meaning Pattimura Airport (PTA) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport), and is located 12,354 miles (19,882 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• In addition to being known as "Pattimura Airport (PTA)", another name for AMQ is "Bandar Udara Pattimura (PTA)".
• Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• As usual when flying in Indonesia, the airport tax is not included in the ticket price, except when flying Garuda.
• Because of Pattimura Airport (PTA)'s relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Pattimura Airport (PTA) 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.