Nonstop flight route between Kandahar, Afghanistan and Nikolai, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan and Nikolai Airport (NIB), Nikolai, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,541 miles (or 8,917 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 Nikolai 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 Nikolai 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):

• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of 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.
• The airport was built in the 1960s by the United States.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• During Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001, Kandahar Airport was one of the first coalition bases established in Afghanistan.
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• The airport came into the public eye during the tense drama that was played out when Pakistani terrorists belonging to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, who hijacked and landed Indian Airlines Flight 814 on the airfield in December 1999, ordered the Government of India to ensure the release and safe-passage of three alleged Pakistani terrorists in return for letting the occupants of the passenger plane leave without harm.
• The deployments in February 2006 brought Task Force Afghanistan in Kandahar to about 2,250 personnel.

Facts about Nikolai Airport (NIB):

• The closest airport to Nikolai Airport (NIB) is McGrath Airport (MCG), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) W of NIB.
• Nikolai Airport covers an area of 76 acres at an elevation of 441 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Nikolai Airport", other names for NIB include "FSP" and "Nikolai".
• Because of Nikolai Airport's relatively low elevation of 441 feet, planes can take off or land at Nikolai 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 Nikolai Airport (NIB) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,431 miles (16,787 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 364 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, a decrease of 21% from the 459 enplanements in 2007.
• Nikolai Airport (NIB) currently has only 1 runway.