Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and El Monte, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT), El Monte, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,607 miles (or 17,070 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 San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) 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 San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) 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 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.
• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT):

• San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT) is Brackett Field (POC), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) E of EMT.
• The furthest airport from San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport (EMT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,469 miles (18,458 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) Airport's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at San Gabriel Valley (El Monte) 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.