Nonstop flight route between Dirranbandi, Queensland, Australia and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dirranbandi Airport (DRN), Dirranbandi, Queensland, Australia and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,817 miles (or 10,971 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 Dirranbandi 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 Dirranbandi 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 Dirranbandi Airport (DRN):

• Dirranbandi Airport (DRN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Dirranbandi Airport's relatively low elevation of 567 feet, planes can take off or land at Dirranbandi 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 Dirranbandi Airport (DRN) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Dirranbandi Airport (DRN) is Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) SSW of DRN.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• The deployments in February 2006 brought Task Force Afghanistan in Kandahar to about 2,250 personnel.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• Reconstruction and Canadian deployments
• 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.
• 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.
• Major battles between the Taliban and local anti-Taliban forces had been fought at the airport just days earlier, and when coalition troops arrived there were abandoned weapons - including a BM-21 still loaded with rockets - scattered around the terminal.
• The airport was built in the 1960s by the United States.
• The airport came into the public eye during the tense drama that was played out when Pakistani terrorists belonging to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, who hijacked and landed Indian Airlines Flight 814 on the airfield in December 1999, ordered the Government of India to ensure the release and safe-passage of three alleged Pakistani terrorists in return for letting the occupants of the passenger plane leave without harm.
• 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.
• 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.