Nonstop flight route between Tucson, Arizona, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), Tucson, Arizona, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,032 miles (or 12,927 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA):

• The furthest airport from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,508 miles (18,521 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• On 1 September 1982, the headquarters of the 602nd Tactical Air Control Wing and its subordinate 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, a unit responsible for the Air Force's tactical air control system west of the Mississippi River transferred from Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, and stood up at D-M, bringing 16 OA-37B aircraft and numerous new personnel to the base.
• In 1919, the Tucson Chamber of Commerce aviation committee established the nation's first municipally owned airfield at the current site of the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.
• In 1962, the Strategic Air Command's 390th Strategic Missile Wing and its 18 Titan II ICBM sites around Tucson were activated.
• Other military activities and federal agencies using the base include Navy Operational Support Center Tucson, a detachment of the Naval Air Systems Command, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S.
• In 1953, the jet age came to Davis-Monthan when SAC units on the base converted to the new Boeing B-47 Stratojet.
• Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits approximately 5 miles south-southeast of downtown Tucson, Arizona.
• The closest airport to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Tucson International Airport (TUS), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SW of DMA.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• Reconstruction and Canadian deployments
• With the closure of Camp Julien in Kabul in November 2005, most of the Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan were transferred to Kandahar province.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the airfield was used intensively by the Soviet Air Forces, both as logistical facility for flying in troops and supplies and as a base for launching airstrikes against local Mujahideen groups.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• 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.