Nonstop flight route between Grand Island, Nebraska, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Central Nebraska Regional Airport (GRI), Grand Island, Nebraska, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,521 miles (or 15,323 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 Central Nebraska Regional Airport and King Shaka International, 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 Central Nebraska Regional Airport and King Shaka International. 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 Central Nebraska Regional Airport (GRI):

• The closest airport to Central Nebraska Regional Airport (GRI) is Hastings Municipal Airport (HSI), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) SSW of GRI.
• Central Nebraska Regional Airport (GRI) has 2 runways.
• The Federal Aviation Administration says the airport had 7,961 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 20,136 enplanements in 2009, and 37,101 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Central Nebraska Regional Airport (GRI) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,617 miles (17,087 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Central Nebraska Regional Airport covers 1,847 acres at an elevation of 1,847 feet above mean sea level.
• Air Midwest, operating as US Airways Express, commenced service on October 29, 2006, with two daily flights to Omaha Eppley Airfield and one daily flight to Kansas City International Airport.

Facts about King Shaka International (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 closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• The airport forms part of the Dube Tradeport, which will additionally consist of a trade zone linked to the airport's cargo terminal, facilities to support the airport such as nearby offices and transit accommodation for tourists, an integrated agricultural export zone, and an IT platform.
• One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB.
• 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.
• Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• 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.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• 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.
• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.