Nonstop flight route between Kathmandu, Nepal and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), Kathmandu, Nepal and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,340 miles (or 8,594 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 Tribhuvan 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 Tribhuvan 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 Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM):

• Tribhuvan International Airport handled 3,405,015 passengers last year.
• The first jet aircraft to land at Tribhuvan was a Air india Boeing 707, which touched down on the 6,600 feet runway in 1967.
• Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Ramechhap Airport (RHP), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) ESE of KTM.
• The furthest airport from Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,530 miles (18,556 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The Airport is connected to the Cities of Kathmandu and Lalitpur through the Busses of Sajha Yatayat, which stop in front of the International Terminal.
• Because of Tribhuvan International Airport's high elevation of 4,390 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KTM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KTM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Tribhuvan International Airport", another name for KTM is "त्रिभुवन अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल".

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• 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.
• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB.
• The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.