Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU), Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,820 miles (or 15,804 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 Fort Sumner Municipal 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 Fort Sumner Municipal 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):

• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• 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 airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• 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.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.

Facts about Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU):

• The furthest airport from Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,167 miles (17,971 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Fort Sumner Municipal Airport covers an area of 960 acres at an elevation of 4,165 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Fort Sumner Municipal Airport", another name for FSU is "Fort Sumner Army Airfield".
• Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Fort Sumner Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,165 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at FSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make FSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airfield's origins date to the 1920s when the Transcontinental Air Transport airline built an airfield in Fort Sumner as part of its coast-to-coast air passenger network, but the site was abandoned when the airline's ambitious plans collapsed in the Great Depression.
• The closest airport to Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) is Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) E of FSU.
• The airport retains the large parking ramp from its training use.