Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ardmore, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ardmore Airport (AMZ), Ardmore, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,272 miles (or 11,702 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 Ardmore 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 King Shaka International and Ardmore Airport. 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):

• 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 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.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.
• The terminal does not have a public viewing deck, which has attracted public criticism.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• King Shaka International Airport was first conceptualised in the 1970s, with construction beginning in 1973.
• 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.
• On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ardmore Airport (AMZ):

• The closest airport to Ardmore Airport (AMZ) is Auckland Airport (AKL), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of AMZ.
• Ardmore Airport is an airport 3 NM southeast of Manurewa in Auckland, New Zealand.
• From 1954 until 1962 the aerodrome was home to the New Zealand Grand Prix with the circuit being approximately 2 miles in length and utilising the two sealed runways operational at the time.
• The furthest airport from Ardmore Airport (AMZ) is Málaga Airport (AGP), which is nearly antipodal to Ardmore Airport (meaning Ardmore Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Málaga Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Málaga, Spain.
• Because of Ardmore Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at Ardmore 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.
• Ardmore Airport (AMZ) has 3 runways.
• The airfield is serviced by two R-NAV arrivals, one for each runway.