Nonstop flight route between Kabul, Afghanistan and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kabul International Airport (KBL), Kabul, Afghanistan and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,411 miles (or 11,927 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 Kabul International Airport and Moffett Federal 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 Kabul International Airport and Moffett Federal 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 Kabul International Airport (KBL):

• The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• During Hillary Cinton's 2010 visit to Afghanistan
• The North Side Cantonment - Kabul International Airport facility was completed and turned over to the United States armed forces in October 2008.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Bagram Airfield (OAI), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) N of KBL.
• Because of Kabul International Airport's high elevation of 5,877 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KBL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KBL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Fire fighting equipment is present.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", another name for KBL is "میدان هوایی بین المللی کابل".
• Kabul International Airport (KBL) currently has only 1 runway.
• An F-15E Strike Eagle from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., sits on the runway at the Kabul International Airport September 2011.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• Narrow gauge tracks run through the length of the hangar.
• In 2008, the Ames Research Center leased 42 acres around the field to Google.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• The naval air station was authorized by an Act of Congress, signed by President Herbert Hoover on 12 February 1931.
• In 1931, the city of Sunnyvale acquired a 1,000 acres parcel of farmland bordering San Francisco Bay, paid for with nearly $480,000 raised by the citizens of Santa Clara County, then "sold" the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Navy airship USS Macon.
• Upon taking jurisdiction of Moffett Field, the Army took on the high cost of Hangar One's maintenance and wanted to inactivate the facility.
• The airport is near the south end of San Francisco Bay, northwest of San Jose.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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 US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
• By far the most famous and visible sites are Hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of WWII for a program of coastal defense.