Nonstop flight route between Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Detroit Lakes Airport (DTL), Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,906 miles (or 11,114 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 Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes Airport (DTL):

• Detroit Lakes Airport (DTL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Detroit Lakes Airport (DTL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,596 miles (17,052 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Detroit Lakes Airport (DTL) is Fergus Falls Municipal Airport (FFM), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) SSW of DTL.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (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.
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• Kandahar International Airport is located 10 miles south-east of Kandahar City in Afghanistan.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• 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.
• 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 Afghan government has been slow in rebuilding the facility, the vast majority of it has been reclaimed from years of neglect and damage by Soviet and Taliban soldiers.
• Since the airport was designed as a military base, it is likely that the United States intended to use it in case there was a show-down of war between the United States and former USSR.