Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and CFB Edmonton (YED), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,010 miles (or 16,110 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 CFB Edmonton, 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 CFB Edmonton. 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about CFB Edmonton (YED):

• The 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, along with elements of Lord Strathcona's Horse and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment were chosen to be a part of Canada's military response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and were deployed on combat operations to Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002.
• The closest airport to CFB Edmonton (YED) is Edmonton International Airport (YEG), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) S of YED.
• On June 7, 2013, the base hosted the raising of a rainbow flag to kick off Edmonton Pride, the first time in Canadian history that the flag has flown on a military base.
• In addition to being known as "CFB Edmonton", other names for YED include "Edmonton/Namao Heliport Edmonton Garrison" and "Steele Barracks".
• During the war the airfield became a staging point for the US defence of Alaska and was heavily used by the US military.
• The furthest airport from CFB Edmonton (YED) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,216 miles (16,441 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• CFB Edmonton is currently the headquarters of 3rd Canadian Division, the highest military authority in western Canada, and a number of brigade groups, including 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, the only Regular Force brigade group in the region.