Nonstop flight route between El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lago Argentino Airport (ING), El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,940 miles (or 15,997 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 Lago Argentino 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 Lago Argentino 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 Lago Argentino Airport (ING):

• Because of Lago Argentino Airport's relatively low elevation of 731 feet, planes can take off or land at Lago Argentino 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 closest airport to Lago Argentino Airport (ING) is Comandante Armando Tola International Airport (FTE), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ENE of ING.
• Lago Argentino Airport (ING) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Lago Argentino Airport (ING) is Baikal International Airport (UUD), which is nearly antipodal to Lago Argentino Airport (meaning Lago Argentino Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Baikal International Airport), and is located 12,334 miles (19,850 kilometers) away in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russia.

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.
• 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.
• 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 July 2007, the post of Commander, Kandahar Airfield was created as a NATO appointment which, until recently, has been held by an officer of the Royal Air Force of OF-6 rank.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• The airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.