Nonstop flight route between Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kitadaito Airport (KTD), Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,928 miles (or 6,321 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 Kitadaito 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 Kitadaito 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 Kitadaito Airport (KTD):

• The furthest airport from Kitadaito Airport (KTD) is Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport (JOI), which is nearly antipodal to Kitadaito Airport (meaning Kitadaito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport), and is located 12,416 miles (19,982 kilometers) away in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Kitadaito Airport (KTD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kitadaito Airport", other names for KTD include "北大東空港" and "Kitadaitō Kūkō".
• Kitadaito Airport was opened in 1971 as an emergency 760 meter airstrip, constructed of crushed coral by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands.
• Because of Kitadaito Airport's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Kitadaito 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 prefecture operates the airport, which is classified as a third class airport.
• Only a round flight from Naha, to Kitadaitō and Minami Daito Airport, back to Naha is operated everyday.
• The closest airport to Kitadaito Airport (KTD) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SSW of KTD.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• 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 airport was built in the 1960s by the United States.
• 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• 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.
• The 159th Combat Aviation Brigade became the main U.S.
• 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• During Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001, Kandahar Airport was one of the first coalition bases established in Afghanistan.