Nonstop flight route between Memphis, Tennessee, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,578 miles (or 12,196 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 Memphis International 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 Memphis International 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 Memphis International Airport (MEM):

• During World War II the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command 4th Ferrying Group used Memphis while sending new aircraft overseas.
• Memphis International Airport handled 7,874,888 passengers last year.
• Memphis International Airport (MEM) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Olive Branch Airport (OLV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ESE of MEM.
• Because of Memphis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Memphis International 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 Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,010 miles (17,719 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Currently, only domestic flights are available for passengers.
• Southern Airways was an important regional carrier at Memphis in the 1960s.
• The 164th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard is based at the co-located Memphis Air National Guard Base, operating C-17 Globe master III transport aircraft.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• Coalition presence increases
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.