Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Chennai (Madras), India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Chennai International Airport (MAA), Chennai (Madras), India would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,397 miles (or 7,076 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 Chennai 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 Chennai 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 Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
• 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.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• 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.
• King Shaka International Airport was first conceptualised in the 1970s, with construction beginning in 1973.
• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.

Facts about Chennai International Airport (MAA):

• An air cargo complex was commissioned on 1 February 1978 for processing of import, export, and transshipment cargo, in addition to unaccompanied luggage, which is the second gateway air cargo terminal in the country after the one at Kolkata airport.
• In addition to being known as "Chennai International Airport", another name for MAA is "Madras Airport Meenambakkam Airport சென்னை பன்னாட்டு வானுர்தி நிலையம்".
• Chennai International Airport (MAA) has 2 runways.
• As a first step towards integrating the entire airspace in the country, the automation system at the ATC in Chennai Airport was commissioned on 1 October 2011.
• The furthest airport from Chennai International Airport (MAA) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,351 miles (18,268 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The cargo complex consists of two divisions, namely, the export and the import facilities.
• Madras had one of the first airports in India and was the final destination of Air India's first flight from Bombay via Belgaum in 1954.
• Because of Chennai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Chennai 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.
• The closest airport to Chennai International Airport (MAA) is Tirupati Airport (TIR), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) NW of MAA.
• As of 2012, Chennai airport has less than 50 percent of the total sanctioned immigration, customs and security officers.