Nonstop flight route between Oran, Algeria and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN), Oran, Algeria and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,957 miles (or 7,978 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 Es-Sénia – Ben Bella 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 Es-Sénia – Ben Bella 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 Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN):

• Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN) has 2 runways.
• Because of Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at Es-Sénia – Ben Bella 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 furthest airport from Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is nearly antipodal to Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (meaning Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whakatane Airport), and is located 12,228 miles (19,678 kilometers) away in Whakatane, New Zealand.
• During World War II, La Sénia Airport was first used by the French Air Force as a military airfield, first by the Armée de l'Air, and after June 1940, by the Armistice Air Force of the Vichy government.
• During the Operation Torch landings in 1942, La Sénia was one of the primary objectives of the assault on Oran on 9 November.
• Once the combat units moved east to other airfields in Algeria and Tunisia during the late spring of 1943, the airfield came under the control of Air Transport Command, under which it functioned as a stopover en route to Algiers airport or to Port Lyautey Airfield, in French Morocco on the North African Cairo–Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel.
• In addition to being known as "Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport", other names for ORN include "Es Sénia Airport (Ouahran)" and "مطار السانية وهران".
• The closest airport to Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN) is Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of ORN.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• The Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.