Nonstop flight route between Long Beach, California, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Long Beach Airport (JLB), Long Beach, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,916 miles (or 12,739 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach Airport (JLB):

• Long Beach Airport (JLB) has 5 runways.
• The first transcontinental flight, a biplane flown by Calbraith Perry Rodgers, landed in 1911 on Long Beach's sandy beach.
• So the Navy had begun a survey for another site — unknown to city officials at the time.
• The closest airport to Long Beach Airport (JLB) is Long Beach Airport (LGB), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of JLB.
• Long Beach Airport handled 2,978,433 passengers last year.
• The arrival of low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways at Long Beach Airport in 2001, and that airline's decision to establish a West Coast hub at LGB, has increased air traffic and has cemented LGB's standing as an alternative to LAX for flights to the East Coast.
• In addition to being known as "Long Beach Airport", other names for JLB include "LGB", "KLGB" and "LGB".
• Commercial flights are restricted, but there are still many charters, private aviation, flight schools, law enforcement flights, helicopters, advertising blimps, planes towing advertising banners, etc.
• Because of Long Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Long Beach 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 furthest airport from Long Beach Airport (JLB) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,489 miles (18,489 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In 1981, the startup airline Jet America began non-stop MD-80 service to Chicago and, in 1982, to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• 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 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.
• 2009 Surge and onwards
• 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.