Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and New York City, New York, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and LaGuardia Airport (LGA), New York City, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,259 miles (or 13,292 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 LaGuardia 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 LaGuardia 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):

• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of 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.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• 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 cargo terminal is located to the north of the passenger terminal, and is in the approximate centre of the airport precinct.
• 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.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.

Facts about LaGuardia Airport (LGA):

• LaGuardia Airport (LGA) has 2 runways.
• In late 2006, construction began to replace the air traffic control tower built in 1962 with a more modern one.
• The furthest airport from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,754 miles (18,917 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• LaGuardia opened with four runways at 45-degree angles to each other, the longest being 6,000 ft.
• As a result of a slot-swap deal between Delta Air Lines and US Airways, as of July 2012, Delta occupies the majority of the terminal.
• The closest airport to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is Flushing Airport (closed 1984) (FLU), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) E of LGA.
• Newark Airport began renovations, but could not keep up with the new Queens airport, which TIME called "the most pretentious land and seaplane base in the world." Even before the project was completed LaGuardia had won commitments from the five largest airlines that they would begin using the new field as soon as it opened.
• Because of LaGuardia Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at LaGuardia 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.
• FAA approved Instrument Departure Procedure "Whitestone Climb" and the "Expressway Visual Approach to Runway 31" which both overfly Citi Field.
• Because of American's pivotal role in the development of the airport, LaGuardia gave the airline extra real estate during the airport's first year of operation, including four hangars.
• The initiative to develop the airport for commercial flights began with an outburst by New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia upon the arrival of his TWA flight at Newark Airport – the only commercial airport serving the New York City region at the time – as his ticket said "New York".