Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,934 miles (or 9,550 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 London Stansted 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 London Stansted 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.
• 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.
• Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.
• In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc.
• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• 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.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• Long-haul services to the USA returned in late 2005, when Eos Airlines and MAXjet Airways commenced all-business-class services from Stansted to New York-JFK Airport.
• The airport is owned and operated by the Manchester Airports Group, which also owns and operates three other UK airports.
• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted 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.
• Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair with over 100 destinations served by the airline.
• In 2007 passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for 5 years and in 2012 the total was around 17.5 million.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• Stansted Airport railway station is situated at the Terminal building below the main concourse.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Beginning in 1966, after Stansted was placed under BAA control, the airport was used by holiday charter operators wishing to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick.
• Long haul transatlantic operations made a return to Stansted in June 2010, when Sun Country Airlines announced a seasonal weekly service from Stansted to Minneapolis.
• Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and Chicago, however the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark, but this service was stopped shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.