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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD), Carlsbad, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,966 miles (or 12,820 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 McClellan–Palomar Airport and Kabul International Airport, 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 McClellan–Palomar Airport and Kabul International Airport. 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 McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD):

• It opened a $24 million airline terminal on January 29, 2009.
• McClellan–Palomar Airport covers 466 acres and has one asphalt runway, 6/24, 4,897 ft × 150 ft.
• In addition to being known as "McClellan–Palomar Airport", another name for CLD is "CRQ".
• The closest airport to McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) is Bob Maxwell Field (Oceanside Municipal Airport) (OCN), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of CLD.
• McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of McClellan–Palomar Airport's relatively low elevation of 331 feet, planes can take off or land at McClellan–Palomar 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 airport is named for Gerald McClellan, an aviator and civic leader in San Diego's North County area.
• The furthest airport from McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,512 miles (18,527 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (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.
• 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• A perimeter was quickly secured around the terminal building and airstrip, and initially all troops worked and lived in and around the main terminal building itself.
• 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• With the closure of Camp Julien in Kabul in November 2005, most of the Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan were transferred to Kandahar province.