Nonstop flight route between Mexico City, Mexico and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX), Mexico City, Mexico and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,778 miles (or 14,126 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 Benito Juarez 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 Benito Juarez 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 Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX):

• On November 24, 1978, the "Mexico" Control Tower began its operations.
• Because of Benito Juarez International Airport's high elevation of 7,316 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MEX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MEX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Because of the increasing traffic, president Vicente Fox announced the construction of a new, larger airport on 5,000 ha in the municipalities of Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco, but when local violent protests aroused, the new airport was cancelled.
• Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Benito Juarez International Airport", another name for MEX is "Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez".
• The closest airport to Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX) is Santa Lucía Air Force Base (NLU), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) N of MEX.
• Benito Juarez International Airport handled 3,277,957 passengers last year.
• Terminal 2 was built over a surface area of 242,666.55m² and has modern security systems, in accordance with international standards including a passenger traffic separation systems.
• The furthest airport from Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,294 miles (18,175 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The Customs area grew from 3,350 to 6,200m² and the number of inspection modules grew from 10 to 18.
• In 2001, in order to improve service to passengers, construction for Module XI started.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• The Afghan government has been slow in rebuilding the facility, the vast majority of it has been reclaimed from years of neglect and damage by Soviet and Taliban soldiers.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was built in the 1960s by the United States.
• As of 2007, the airport has been repaired and expanded.
• 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.
• Kandahar International Airport is located 10 miles south-east of Kandahar City in Afghanistan.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• 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 2009 surge in NATO operations in southern Afghanistan pushed the number of aircraft operations at the base from 1,700 to 5,000 flights a week.
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.