Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,821 miles (or 17,414 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• SFO has expanded through the decades.
• In 1954 the airport's Central Passenger Terminal opened.
• SFO experiences delays in overcast weather when only two of the airport's four runways can be used at a time because the centerlines of the parallel runways are only 750 feet apart.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers operate from Boarding Area A.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
• 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.
• Mount Moreland, a small community located 2.6 km south of the airport, is an important roosting site for the European Barn Swallow.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.
• 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.