Nonstop flight route between St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Samedan Airport (SMV), St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,426 miles (or 8,732 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 Samedan 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 Samedan 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 Samedan Airport (SMV):

• The furthest airport from Samedan Airport (SMV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Samedan Airport (meaning Samedan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,075 miles (19,433 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Samedan Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SMV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SMV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Samedan Airport", another name for SMV is "Flughafen Engadin".
• The airport has one runway designated 03/21 with an asphalt pavement measuring 1800 x 40 metres.
• Samedan Airport (SMV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was used as one of the locations for filming "Where Eagles Dare".
• The closest airport to Samedan Airport (SMV) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SW of SMV.

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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• The project was revived in the late 1990s when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The check-in concourse, located on the upper floor, contains 72 check-in counters and 18 self-service kiosks, as well as ticket offices for the various airlines operating out of the airport.
• 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.
• On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.