Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Kabul, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Kabul International Airport (KBL), Kabul, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,955 miles (or 11,193 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Terminal 4 – originally called the Domestic Express or South Terminal – is dedicated to budget airlines and is the first facility of its kind at a conventional airport in Australia.
• On 1 July 1970, Melbourne Airport was opened to international operations by Prime Minister John Gorton, ending Essendon's near 2-decade run as Melbourne International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Expansion of carparks has also continued with a $40 million project commenced in 2004, doubling the size of the short term carpark with the addition of 2,500 spaces over six levels, along with 1,200 new spaces added to the 5,000 already available in the long term carpark.
• Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KBL):

• The airport has 7 helicopter pad for mostly military traffic.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", another name for KBL is "میدان هوایی بین المللی کابل".
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Bagram Airfield (OAI), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) N of KBL.
• An F-15E Strike Eagle from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., sits on the runway at the Kabul International Airport September 2011.
• Kabul International Airport (KBL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following NATO's invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Kabul International Airport was bombed by United States and coalition forces.
• The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The airport has two terminal buildings, the modern for international flights and the Soviet built one for domestic flights.
• Because of Kabul International Airport's high elevation of 5,877 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KBL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KBL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.