Nonstop flight route between Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,291 miles (or 5,297 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 Maastricht Aachen 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 Maastricht Aachen 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 Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST):

• The late 1950s and early 1960s brought significant expansion in commercial operations at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of the proximity to the new headquarters, the decision was made to create a temporary airfield between the towns of Beek, Geulle and Ulestraten.
• After the allied invasion of Normandy, the USAAF Ninth Air Force, specifically the IX Engineer Command, was tasked with constructing temporary airfields close to the advancing front.
• The runway was 5,565 feet and reinforced with pierced steel planks.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MST.
• Because of Maastricht Aachen Airport's relatively low elevation of 375 feet, planes can take off or land at Maastricht Aachen 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.
• In late October 2012, start-up Dutch airline, Maastricht Airlines, announced plans to base six Fokker 50 aircraft at the airport, initially operating to Berlin, Munich, and Amsterdam, before adding Copenhagen, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Southend in 2014.
• In 1981, a development plan for the airport recommended constructing a 3,500m east–west runway to facilitate growth in cargo operations, particularly during the night hours.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• The Royal Air Force also has a detachment of C130 K and J model Hercules transport aircraft from 24, 30, 47 and 70 Squadrons and its attached Engineering detachment from 24/30 and 47/70 Engineering Squadrons as part of No.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of 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.
• Since 2007, the airport is maintained by NATO under the International Security Assistance Force banner, although a prominent base for the US and Canadian Forces, many other Armed Forces are based there.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the airfield was used intensively by the Soviet Air Forces, both as logistical facility for flying in troops and supplies and as a base for launching airstrikes against local Mujahideen groups.
• 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 airport came into the public eye during the tense drama that was played out when Pakistani terrorists belonging to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, who hijacked and landed Indian Airlines Flight 814 on the airfield in December 1999, ordered the Government of India to ensure the release and safe-passage of three alleged Pakistani terrorists in return for letting the occupants of the passenger plane leave without harm.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Reconstruction and Canadian deployments