Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from HKY to RCB:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- HKY Airport Information
- RCB Airport Information
- Facts about HKY
- Facts about RCB
- Map of Nearest Airports to HKY
- List of Nearest Airports to HKY
- Map of Furthest Airports from HKY
- List of Furthest Airports from HKY
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCB
- List of Nearest Airports to RCB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCB
- List of Furthest Airports from RCB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,593 miles (or 13,829 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Richards Bay 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Richards Bay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HKY / KHKY |
Airport Name: | Hickory Regional Airport |
Location: | Hickory, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°44'27"N by 81°23'21"W |
Area Served: | Hickory, North Carolina |
Operator/Owner: | City of Hickory |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1190 feet (363 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from HKY |
More Information: | HKY Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCB / FARB |
Airport Name: | Richards Bay Airport |
Location: | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°44'26"S by 32°5'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | uMhlathuze Local Municipality |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 109 feet (33 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCB |
More Information: | RCB Maps & Info |
Facts about Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):
- The airport has an operating control tower from 7:00am to 9:00pm daily for safety and sequencing of aircraft landing and departing.
- Local officials hope to attract future commercial airline service, despite challenges caused by the relatively close proximity of the large Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
- Riverhawk Aviation, which was the airport's only FBO, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
- Atlantis Airlines was one small airline of this type, offering up to 6 daily direct flights to Charlotte and Atlanta.
- In the early part of 1969, a new High Intensity Lighting system was installed on runway 6/24 as well as lighting on the parallel taxiway.
- Hickory Fire Department staffs an ARFF Fire apparatus at the airport 24/7, Engine 4 responds to all aircraft accidents and emergencies at the airport.
- The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
Facts about Richards Bay Airport (RCB):
- Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
- Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.