Nonstop flight route between Kandahar, Afghanistan and San Diego, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan and NAS North Island (NZY), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,996 miles (or 12,868 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 Kabul International Airport and NAS North Island, 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 Kabul International Airport and NAS North Island. 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 Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy also had based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces replacing USMC AV-8B's.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Kabul International Airport (meaning Kabul International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,023 miles (19,349 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Since 2007, the airport is maintained by NATO under the International Security Assistance Force banner, although a prominent base for the US and Canadian Forces, many other Armed Forces are based there.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• The airport was mostly used at this time for military and humanitarian purposes, hosting regular flights of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to and from Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat and Peshawar.

Facts about NAS North Island (NZY):

• The list of American military pilots trained at North Island reads like the Who's Who of aviation.
• The closest airport to NAS North Island (NZY) is San Diego International Airport (SAN), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of NZY.
• With all the ships in port, the population of the station is nearly 35,000 active duty military, selected reserve military, and civilian personnel.
• The Navy's first aviator, Lieutenant Theodore Ellyson, and many of his colleagues were trained at North Island starting as early as 1911.
• The furthest airport from NAS North Island (NZY) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,542 miles (18,575 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1914, then-unknown aircraft builder Glenn Martin took off and demonstrated his pusher aircraft over the island with a flight that included the first parachute jump in the San Diego area.
• In addition to being known as "NAS North Island", another name for NZY is "Halsey Field".
• NAS North Island features some of the warmest winter temperatures anywhere on the West coast of the continental United States.
• Because of NAS North Island's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS North Island 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.
• NAS North Island (NZY) has 2 runways.