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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), South Lake Tahoe, California, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,676 miles (or 17,181 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 Lake Tahoe 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 Lake Tahoe 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 Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL):

• Holiday Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops served Lake Tahoe in the 1960s and early 1970s, followed by Pacific Southwest Airlines and Air California Electras.
• Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lake Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 6,264 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TVL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TVL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of TVL.
• The furthest airport from Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,214 miles (18,048 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Airlines in bold flew jets to Lake Tahoe.
• The ban on airline jets then ended, and jet flights resumed in 1983 on AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and later Boeing 737-300s.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.