Nonstop flight route between Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Los Alamos Airport (LAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,942 miles (or 16,000 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos Airport (LAM):

• The closest airport to Los Alamos Airport (LAM) is Ohkay Owingeh Airport (ESO), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of LAM.
• Because of Los Alamos Airport's high elevation of 7,171 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LAM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LAM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Los Alamos Airport, also known as Los Alamos County Airport, is a county owned, public use airport in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States.
• Because of the restricted airspace immediately to the south of the runway, and the noise-sensitive residential area just west of the runway, Los Alamos Airport employs a non-standard traffic pattern.
• Los Alamos Airport (LAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Los Alamos Airport", another name for LAM is "Los Alamos County Airport".
• The furthest airport from Los Alamos Airport (LAM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,157 miles (17,956 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• 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.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The terminal does not have a public viewing deck, which has attracted public criticism.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.