Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Bellingham, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Bellingham International Airport (BLI), Bellingham, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,519 miles (or 16,929 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 Bellingham International 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 Bellingham International 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):

• The check-in concourse, located on the upper floor, contains 72 check-in counters and 18 self-service kiosks, as well as ticket offices for the various airlines operating out of the airport.
• 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 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• 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.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.

Facts about Bellingham International Airport (BLI):

• Bellingham International Airport (BLI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bellingham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 170 feet, planes can take off or land at Bellingham International 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.
• In September 2010 the airport completed a $26 million resurfacing of the runway to allow aircraft up to the size of Boeing 757s to utilize the airport.
• The furthest airport from Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,700 miles (17,220 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The airport is presently undergoing a significant expansion to the commercial passenger terminal building which will increase the size of the terminal building from 27,000 to 85,000 square feet.
• In 1985, Pacific Southwest Airlines introduced Bellingham's first ever passenger jet service with McDonnell Douglas MD-80 flights direct to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
• The closest airport to Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is Blaine Municipal Airport (BWS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NNW of BLI.
• In addition to being known as "Bellingham International Airport", another name for BLI is "(Bellingham/Tulip Army Airfield)".