Nonstop flight route between Kenema, Sierra Leone and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kenema Airport (KEN), Kenema, Sierra Leone and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,171 miles (or 8,322 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 Kenema 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 Kenema 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 Kenema Airport (KEN):

• The furthest airport from Kenema Airport (KEN) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Kenema Airport (meaning Kenema Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,031 miles (19,362 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.
• Kenema Airport (KEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kenema Airport's relatively low elevation of 485 feet, planes can take off or land at Kenema 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 Kenema Airport (KEN) is Bo Airport (KBS), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) W of KEN.

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.
• 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 airport was mostly used at this time for military and humanitarian purposes, hosting regular flights of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to and from Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat and Peshawar.
• Coalition presence increases
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• 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 deployments in February 2006 brought Task Force Afghanistan in Kandahar to about 2,250 personnel.
• The airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• The 159th Combat Aviation Brigade became the main U.S.