Nonstop flight route between Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and New Orleans, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), New Orleans, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,002 miles (or 14,488 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 Richards Bay Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, 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 Richards Bay Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB):

• The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
• Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY):

• A number of airlines scheduled large passenger jets into New Orleans in the past.
• On September 19, 1947 the airport was shut down as it was submerged under two feet of water in the wake of the 1947 Hurricane's impact.
• In addition to being known as "Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport", another name for MSY is "Moisant Field".
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is Lakefront Airport (NEW), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) ENE of MSY.
• At an average of 4.5 feet above sea level, MSY is the 2nd lowest-lying international airport in the world, behind only Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands, which is eleven feet below sea level.
• MSY was the hub for short-lived Pride Air, a start-up domestic airline which flew Boeing 727-100s and 727-200s for three months in 1985.
• British Airways operated nonstop service to London and Mexico City in the early 1980s with the Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar which was the long range version of the widebody trijet.
• The furthest airport from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,905 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• On November 16, 1959 National Airlines Flight 967, a Douglas DC-7 flying from Tampa to New Orleans crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
• Because of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Louis Armstrong New Orleans 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.