Nonstop flight route between León, Spain and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between León Airport (LEN), León, Spain and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,509 miles (or 8,865 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 León 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 León 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 León Airport (LEN):

• In addition to being known as "León Airport", another name for LEN is "Aeropuerto de León".
• León Airport, is an international airport located 6 kilometres from León, Spain.
• León Airport (LEN) has 2 runways.
• In 1994 the first stage of Leon's civil airport project was drawn up and a runway, a link road and an aircraft parking area were built and inaugurated in 1995.
• The furthest airport from León Airport (LEN) is Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), which is nearly antipodal to León Airport (meaning León Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kaikoura Aerodrome), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to León Airport (LEN) is Asturias Airport (OVD), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) NNW of LEN.
• In 1964 Leon Airport was opened to commercial traffic.
• León Airport handled 30,890 passengers last year.
• In March 1920, a ministerial provision on territorial distribution and organisation of military forces and services designated Leon as a location for one of the air stations established under the provision.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• 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 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The project was revived in the late 1990s when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent.
• 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 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.
• In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc.
• The check-in concourse, located on the upper floor, contains 72 check-in counters and 18 self-service kiosks, as well as ticket offices for the various airlines operating out of the airport.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.