Nonstop flight route between Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Valdivia, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Pichoy Airport (ZAL), Valdivia, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,618 miles (or 9,040 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 Pichoy 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 Pichoy 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):

• Although the larger airport was built to grow the area's international services, it is also a key airport for domestic services throughout South Africa, serving the "Golden Triangle" between Cape Town International Airport, OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and KSIA itself with 7 airlines.
• In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc.
• The project was revived in the late 1990s when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• As a result, a study into the risks of bird strikes at KSIA was commissioned, with special attention being paid to the Barn Swallows at Mount Moreland.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 final obstacle was a delay in the approval of the project's Environmental Impact Assessment by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• King Shaka International Airport was first conceptualised in the 1970s, with construction beginning in 1973.
• 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 largest aircraft KSIA currently has scheduled services for is the Boeing 777-300ER, with Emirates operating Dubai–Durban, despite the fact that KSIA's runway length and terminal were designed to theoretically handle regular large airliners.

Facts about Pichoy Airport (ZAL):

• The closest airport to Pichoy Airport (ZAL) is Maquehue Airport (ZCO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NNE of ZAL.
• In addition to being known as "Pichoy Airport", another name for ZAL is "Aeródromo Pichoy".
• Pichoy Airport (ZAL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pichoy Airport (ZAL) is Wuhai Airport (WUA), which is nearly antipodal to Pichoy Airport (meaning Pichoy Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Wuhai Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,997 kilometers) away in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China.
• Because of Pichoy Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Pichoy 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.