Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Narita (near Tokyo), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Narita International Airport (NRT), Narita (near Tokyo), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,391 miles (or 13,504 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 Narita 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 Narita 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Narita International Airport (NRT):

• In addition to being known as "Narita International Airport", other names for NRT include "成田国際空港" and "Narita Kokusai Kūkō".
• Vanilla Air, a low cost carrier, has its headquarters within Terminal 2.
• All seats are reserved on the express "Liner" services, while the suburban "Express" services use open seating.
• Because of Narita International Airport's relatively low elevation of 135 feet, planes can take off or land at Narita 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 Narita International Airport (NRT) is Tokyo International Airport (HND), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) WSW of NRT.
• The furthest airport from Narita International Airport (NRT) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,686 miles (18,806 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Narita Express runs from the airport via the Narita and Sōbu lines to Tokyo Station.
• For domestic flights, three gates in the main building are connected to both the main departures concourse and to a separate domestic check-in facility.
• Japan Airlines operates the Japan Airlines Narita Operation Center at Narita Airport.
• Narita International Airport (NRT) has 2 runways.
• Terminal 2 is divided into a main building and satellite, both of which are designed around linear concourses.
• Narita International Airport handled 31,432,754 passengers last year.