Nonstop flight route between Hobbs, New Mexico, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lea County Regional Airport (HOB), Hobbs, New Mexico, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,944 miles (or 12,785 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 Lea County Regional 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 Lea County Regional 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 Lea County Regional Airport (HOB):

• In 1940 the city of Hobbs passed a bond issue to purchase the airport and some adjoining acreage, with the intent of bringing airline service and airmail delivery.
• The furthest airport from Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,218 miles (18,054 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) has 3 runways.
• Continental Airlines was replaced by Trans-Texas Airlines in 1963.
• The closest airport to Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) is Winkler County Airport (INK), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) S of HOB.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• Eight General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon close air support fighters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force were deployed to Kandahar Airfield to support the expanded NATO operation in southern Afghanistan in late 2006.
• During Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001, Kandahar Airport was one of the first coalition bases established in Afghanistan.
• The deployments in February 2006 brought Task Force Afghanistan in Kandahar to about 2,250 personnel.
• The airport was mostly used at this time for military and humanitarian purposes, hosting regular flights of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to and from Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat and Peshawar.
• 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.