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 cargo terminal will form one component of the Dube TradePort's TradeZone Precinct, which will additionally be home to trade and logistics warehousing as well as cargo and light industry activities that require quick access to air cargo services, and will cover an area of 36 hectares.
• 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 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc.
• The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bellingham International Airport (BLI):

• 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 1940 the United States Army Corps of Engineers took over the facility and expanded it to three full runways, revetments for parking aircraft, and development of personnel quarters.
• In early 2007 Bellingham International hosted service to three destinations by the short-lived Western Airlines.
• 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 runway and taxiway resurfacing and improvement projects were funded with FAA Airport Improvement Program grants covering 95% of project costs.
• Bellingham International Airport (BLI) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bellingham International Airport", another name for BLI is "(Bellingham/Tulip Army Airfield)".