Nonstop flight route between Kandahar, Afghanistan and West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan and Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,430 miles (or 11,957 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 Columbia Metropolitan 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 Kabul International Airport and Columbia Metropolitan 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 Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• 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.
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Reconstruction and Canadian deployments
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy also had based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces replacing USMC AV-8B's.
• 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.
• The airport was built in the 1960s by the United States.
• Coalition presence increases

Facts about Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE):

• Passenger service was begun by Delta Air Lines which has served Columbia for over 70 years.
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport handled 1,027,699 passengers last year.
• In 1941 the airport came under formal military control and an immediate program began to turn the civil airport into a military airfield.
• Passenger service is provided by five scheduled airlines, with commercial cargo service being handled by three scheduled airlines and numerous air freight operators.
• Because of Columbia Metropolitan Airport's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at Columbia Metropolitan 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 Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of CAE.
• Police and Fire/Rescue services are provided by the Columbia Metro Airport Department of Public Safety.
• The airport was built in the 1940 as Lexington County Airport.
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,508 miles (18,520 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Eastern Airlines provided service to Charlotte, Washington, and New York.