Nonstop flight route between Warsaw, Poland and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), Warsaw, Poland and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,684 miles (or 9,147 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 Warsaw Chopin 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 Warsaw Chopin 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 Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW):

• During World War II, Okęcie was often used as a battleground between the German Army and Polish resistance and was almost completely destroyed.
• The closest airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Historic Centre of Warsaw (WRW), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of WAW.
• Because of Warsaw Chopin Airport's relatively low elevation of 361 feet, planes can take off or land at Warsaw Chopin 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.
• The furthest airport from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Warsaw Chopin Airport handled 10,683,706 passengers last year.
• Passenger traffic at Warsaw Chopin Airport has increased dramatically since the fall of communism in Poland and the removal of restrictions on Polish citizens' travel abroad.
• In addition to being known as "Warsaw Chopin Airport", another name for WAW is "Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie".
• In 2010, the designation of terminals had changed and the entire former Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 complex is now designated as Terminal A divided into five check-in areas in two main halls.
• Formerly Warsaw-Okecie Airport or Okecie International Airport, the airport bore the name of its Okęcie neighborhood throughout its history, until its renaming for Polish composer and former Warsaw resident Frédéric Chopin in 2001.
• By the end of the 1940s, the airport had been reconnected with most of Poland's most important cities and a number of international services, including those to Belgrade, Berlin, Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Copenhagen, Prague and Stockholm.
• Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) has 2 runways.

Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):

• King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• As a result, a study into the risks of bird strikes at KSIA was commissioned, with special attention being paid to the Barn Swallows at Mount Moreland.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• It is unclear what the fate of the existing Durban International Airport will be now that KSIA is complete.
• In 2013 Skytrax announced that King Shaka International Airport was the best airport in the world handling under 5 million passengers.
• One of the objectives of the cargo terminal is to recapture local air freight traffic from JNB.