Nonstop flight route between Pilot Point, Alaska, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pilot Point Airport (PIP), Pilot Point, Alaska, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,460 miles (or 16,834 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 Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point Airport (PIP):

• In addition to being known as "Pilot Point Airport", other names for PIP include "Pilot Point Airport (new location)" and "PNP".
• Because of Pilot Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,808 miles (17,394 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Pilot Point Airport (PIP) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 1 July 1981, Douglas R4D N111ST of United Aircraft Services crashed shortly after take-off while on a flight to Anchorage International Airport, following the failure of the port engine.
• The closest airport to Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is Ugashik Airport (UGS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of PIP.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• 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.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In response to the study, ACSA contracted De-Tect Inc.
• 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 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.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• 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.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• 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.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• 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.
• 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.