Nonstop flight route between Chennai (Madras), India and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chennai International Airport (MAA), Chennai (Madras), India and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,397 miles (or 7,076 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 Chennai 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 Chennai 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 Chennai International Airport (MAA):

• The international and the domestic terminals cover an area of 1.5 km2 and 1.8 km2, respectively.
• The aviation history of the city began in 1910, when a city-based Corsican hotelier Giacomo D'Angelis built an aircraft and tested it.
• Madras had one of the first airports in India and was the final destination of Air India's first flight from Bombay via Belgaum in 1954.
• The immigration services at the airport and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, which is the office of the field officers in charge of immigration and registration activities in the city located at Shastri Bhavan at Haddows Road, are handled by the Bureau of Immigration.
• Chennai is the home to India's biggest air traffic control centre.
• The closest airport to Chennai International Airport (MAA) is Tirupati Airport (TIR), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) NW of MAA.
• Chennai airport has two runways—the 3,658 m long primary runway No.
• In addition to being known as "Chennai International Airport", another name for MAA is "Madras Airport Meenambakkam Airport சென்னை பன்னாட்டு வானுர்தி நிலையம்".
• Chennai airport is the centre of the southern flight information region, one of the four FIRs that the Indian air space is divided into.
• Because of Chennai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Chennai International 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.
• Chennai International Airport (MAA) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Chennai International Airport (MAA) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,351 miles (18,268 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• As a first step towards integrating the entire airspace in the country, the automation system at the ATC in Chennai Airport was commissioned on 1 October 2011.

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.
• 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 Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport forms part of the Dube Tradeport, which will additionally consist of a trade zone linked to the airport's cargo terminal, facilities to support the airport such as nearby offices and transit accommodation for tourists, an integrated agricultural export zone, and an IT platform.
• 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.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.