Nonstop flight route between Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,620 miles (or 18,701 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA):

• In addition to being known as "Kona International Airport at Keāhole", another name for KOA is "Kona International Airport".
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole handled 2,649,493 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (meaning Kona International Airport at Keāhole is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Tourism has helped fuel Hawaii County's overall population growth.
• The full extent of the airport's impact and shift in tourism can be seen in Hawaii Island Strategic Plan for 2006 to 2015.
• Construction crews from Bechtel Corporation had used three million pounds of dynamite to flatten the lava flow within 13 months.
• Because of Kona International Airport at Keāhole's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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.
• Kona International is the only remaining major airport in the Hawaiian Islands where a mobile ramp is used to plane and deplane passengers.
• It was originally known as Ke-āhole Airport, since the ʻāhole fish was found nearby.
• The closest airport to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KOA.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• The Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
• The project was revived in the late 1990s when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
• 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 closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.