Nonstop flight route between Gulkana, Alaska, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gulkana Airport (GKN), Gulkana, Alaska, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,735 miles (or 9,229 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 Gulkana 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 Gulkana 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 Gulkana Airport (GKN):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 204 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 187 enplanements in 2009, and 141 in 2010.
• Gulkana Airport (GKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Gulkana Airport covers an area of 1,678 acres at an elevation of 1,586 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,451 miles (16,820 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Copper Center Airport (CZC), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of GKN.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (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.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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 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.