Nonstop flight route between King City, California, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC), King City, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,735 miles (or 12,448 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 Mesa Del Rey 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 Mesa Del Rey 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 Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC):

• Opened in April 1940 as Palo Alto Airport or King City Airport.
• Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mesa Del Rey Airport's relatively low elevation of 374 feet, planes can take off or land at Mesa Del Rey 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mesa Del Rey Airport", other names for KIC include "(former King City Airport)" and "(former King City Naval Aux. Air Station)".
• The closest airport to Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC) is Roberts Army Heliport (SYL), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) SE of KIC.
• The furthest airport from Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,390 miles (18,330 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• The airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• The airport was built in the 1960s by the United States.
• With the closure of Camp Julien in Kabul in November 2005, most of the Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan were transferred to Kandahar province.
• 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 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".
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• The 159th Combat Aviation Brigade became the main U.S.
• 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.