Nonstop flight route between Tokyo, Honshū, Japan and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tokyo International Airport (HND), Tokyo, Honshū, Japan and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,355 miles (or 13,445 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 Tokyo International 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 Tokyo International 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 Tokyo International Airport (HND):

• Haneda Airport has three terminals.
• Macquarie Bank and Macquarie Airports owned a 19.9% stake in Japan Airport Terminal until 2009, when they sold their stake back to the company.
• The furthest airport from Tokyo International Airport (HND) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,722 miles (18,864 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• The Tokyo Monorail opened between Haneda and central Tokyo in 1964, in time for the Tokyo Olympics.
• Because of Tokyo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Tokyo International 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.
• Haneda was the primary international airport serving Tokyo until 1978.
• The Transport Ministry released an expansion plan for Haneda in 1983 under which it would be expanded onto new landfill in Tokyo Bay with the aim of increasing capacity, reducing noise and making use of the large amount of garbage generated by Tokyo.
• In October 2006, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reached an informal agreement to launch bilateral talks regarding an additional city-to-city service between Haneda and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
• Tokyo International Airport (HND) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Tokyo International Airport (HND) is Narita International Airport (NRT), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) ENE of HND.
• During World War II, both IJA and Haneda Airport shifted to almost exclusively military transport services.
• In addition to being known as "Tokyo International Airport", other names for HND include "東京国際空港" and "Tōkyō Kokusai Kūkō".

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• King Shaka International Airport was first conceptualised in the 1970s, with construction beginning in 1973.
• 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.
• One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB.
• 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.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• 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.
• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.