Nonstop flight route between Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sligo Airport (SXL), Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,261 miles (or 10,076 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 Sligo 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 Sligo 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 Sligo Airport (SXL):

• In addition to being known as "Sligo Airport", another name for SXL is "Aerfort Shligigh".
• The closest airport to Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of SXL.
• Euroceltic were operating the Government of Ireland public service obligation subsidy scheme for the route to Dublin at the time.
• Until the end of 2008 there was a connection with Manchester which was operated by Aer Arann.
• In common with airports such as Gibraltar and Funchal, there is a lack of safety margin for under/overshoots as the peninsula upon which the airport is situated is less than 2 km long.
• The furthest airport from Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Sligo Airport (SXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sligo Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Sligo 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.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.
• 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.
• 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 project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
• The terminal does not have a public viewing deck, which has attracted public criticism.
• 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.
• Construction of the airport commenced on 24 August 2007, immediately after the approval of the EIA.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.