Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Bangkok, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), Bangkok, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,515 miles (or 8,875 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 Suvarnabhumi 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 Suvarnabhumi 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):

• 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.
• Although the larger airport was built to grow the area's international services, it is also a key airport for domestic services throughout South Africa, serving the "Golden Triangle" between Cape Town International Airport, OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and KSIA itself with 7 airlines.
• 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 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.
• The Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
• 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 Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK):

• Fifty percent of the airport's construction cost was covered by Airports of Thailand, while the another 50% was from a friendly agreement of AOT and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
• The integration of structural form into overall aesthetics is a phenomenon personally described by Helmut Jahn as "archi-neering".
• Planning of a second international airport for Bangkok started in the early 1960s.
• Suvarnabhumi is the sixteenth busiest airport in the world, sixth busiest airport in Asia, and the busiest in the country, having handled 53 million passengers in 2012, and is also a major air cargo hub, with a total of 96 airlines.
• In January 2007, ruts were discovered in the runways at Suvarnabhumi.
• The closest airport to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) is Suvarnabhumi Airport (NBK), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BKK.
• Symbolic first test flights involving two Thai Airways aircraft were held on 29 September 2005, a previously announced deadline for opening.
• Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), which is nearly antipodal to Suvarnabhumi Airport (meaning Suvarnabhumi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Jorge Chávez International Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Callao (near Lima), Peru.
• In addition to being known as "Suvarnabhumi Airport", other names for BKK include "ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ" and "VTBS".
• Because of Suvarnabhumi Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Suvarnabhumi 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.