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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,749 miles (or 17,299 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):

• Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941.
• The host unit at Vandenberg AFB is the 30th Space Wing.
• The furthest airport from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• Vandenberg Air Force Base is named in honor of the late General Hoyt S.
• In September 2000, veterans of the 40th Infantry Division gathered an Vandenberg Air Force Base to dedicate its Korean War Memorial.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• 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.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• 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 Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
• The project was revived in the late 1990s when the limitations of Durban International Airport became apparent.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• The airport is located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 35 km north of Durban.