Nonstop flight route between Mérida, Venezuela and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD), Mérida, Venezuela and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,470 miles (or 13,632 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 Alberto Carnevalli 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 Alberto Carnevalli 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 Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD):

• Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Alberto Carnevalli Airport", another name for MRD is "Aeropuerto Alberto Carnevalli".
• The furthest airport from Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Alberto Carnevalli Airport (meaning Alberto Carnevalli Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.
• Because of Alberto Carnevalli Airport's high elevation of 5,007 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MRD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MRD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) is Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of MRD.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• 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 airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Reconstruction and Canadian deployments
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy also had based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces replacing USMC AV-8B'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.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".