Nonstop flight route between Opelousas, Louisiana, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Landry Parish Airport (OPL), Opelousas, Louisiana, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,079 miles (or 14,610 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 St. Landry Parish 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 St. Landry Parish 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 St. Landry Parish Airport (OPL):

• Because of St. Landry Parish Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Landry Parish 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.
• The closest airport to St. Landry Parish Airport (OPL) is Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SSE of OPL.
• The furthest airport from St. Landry Parish Airport (OPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,045 miles (17,775 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• St. Landry Parish Airport (OPL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "St. Landry Parish Airport", another name for OPL is "Ahart Field".

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.
• 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.
• One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.