Nonstop flight route between Lympne, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lympne Airport (LYM), Lympne, Kent, England, United Kingdom and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,870 miles (or 9,446 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 Lympne 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 Lympne 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 Lympne Airport (LYM):

• Lympne Airport (LYM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lympne Airport (LYM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 4 June 1937, a British Klemm Swallow made a pilot-less take-off from Lympne and flew for some 35 minutes before crashing into a tree.
• In January 1925, notification that red edge lights had been installed along the runways and taxiways at Lympne was made.
• Lympne Airport /ˈlɪm/, was a military and later civil airfield, at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984.
• The closest airport to Lympne Airport (LYM) is Lydd International Airport (LYX), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSW of LYM.
• In addition to being known as "Lympne Airport", another name for LYM is "Ashford Airport".
• In January 1929, a Notice to Airmen said that when visibility was bad any aircraft not fitted with radios were warned against using the Croydon–Edenbridge–Ashford–Lympne route or any of the alternative routes notified in 1927.
• Lympne returned to civilian use on 1 January 1946.
• In July 1948, Silver City Airways started an aerial car ferry service from Lympne to Le Touquet using Bristol Freighter aircraft.
• Because of Lympne Airport's relatively low elevation of 351 feet, planes can take off or land at Lympne 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.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• 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 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.
• On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.
• 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.
• The largest aircraft KSIA currently has scheduled services for is the Boeing 777-300ER, with Emirates operating Dubai–Durban, despite the fact that KSIA's runway length and terminal were designed to theoretically handle regular large airliners.
• 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 arrivals area is located on the lower floor, with a baggage reclaim hall containing 5 conveyors that can be allocated between domestic and international use.
• 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.