Nonstop flight route between Gweru, Zimbabwe and Bagram, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), Gweru, Zimbabwe and Bagram Airfield (OAI), Bagram, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,560 miles (or 7,339 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base and Bagram Airfield, 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base and Bagram Airfield. 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE):

• Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) has 2 runways.
• Because of Gweru-Thornhill Air Base's high elevation of 4,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GWE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GWE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Masvingo Airport (MVZ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) ESE of GWE.
• The furthest airport from Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (meaning Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Bagram Airfield (OAI):

• In March 2010, insurgents attacked an area at the base with rockets.
• In addition to being known as "Bagram Airfield", other names for OAI include "Bagram Airport (Bagram)" and "د بګرام هوائی ډګر".
• Some of the Soviet land forces based at Bagram included the 108th Motor Rifle Division and the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment of the 105th Guards Airborne Division.
• The closest airport to Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Kabul International Airport (KBL), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) S of OAI.
• Bagram Airfield (OAI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Control of the base was contested from 1999 onward between the Northern Alliance and Taliban, often with each controlling territory on opposing ends of the base.
• By 2007 Bagram has become the size of a small town, with traffic jams and many commercial shops selling goods from clothes to food.
• The airport at Bagram was originally built in the 1950s, during the Cold War, at a time when the United States and neighboring Soviet Union were busy spreading influence in Afghanistan.
• Because of Bagram Airfield's high elevation of 4,895 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at OAI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make OAI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,894 miles (19,141 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.