Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Kōchi, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Kōchi Airport (KCZ), Kōchi, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,981 miles (or 12,844 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 Kōchi 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 Kōchi 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 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.
• 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.
• Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.
• 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 arrivals area is located on the lower floor, with a baggage reclaim hall containing 5 conveyors that can be allocated between domestic and international use.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Kōchi Airport (KCZ):

• The closest airport to Kōchi Airport (KCZ) is Takamatsu Airport (TAK), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) NNE of KCZ.
• The furthest airport from Kōchi Airport (KCZ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kōchi Airport (meaning Kōchi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,083 miles (19,446 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Kōchi Airport was originally built in 1944 as Kōchi Airfield for the Imperial Japanese Navy and from 1945 to 1952 the airport was under command of US forces.
• Because of Kōchi Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Kōchi 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.
• On 13 March 2007, All Nippon Airways Flight 1603, a Bombardier Dash 8, bound from Osaka to Kōchi, landed safely at the Kochi Airport after the front wheel of the plane failed to deploy.
• Kōchi Airport (KCZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kōchi Airport", another name for KCZ is "高知空港".