Nonstop flight route between Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort (MZR), Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,032 miles (or 12,927 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 Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort and Canton Island 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 Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort and Canton Island 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 Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort (MZR):

• The airport was heavily used in the 1980s by the Soviet forces from which it launched daily flight missions to hit targets in the Mujahideen controlled territories of the southeast.
• Originally built by engineers from the Soviet Union in the 1950s, the airport serves the Afghan population north of the country.
• Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort (MZR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort", another name for MZR is "Mazar-e-Sharif Airport (Mazar-e-Sharif)".
• The furthest airport from Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort (MZR) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,749 miles (18,908 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Mazar-e Sharif International Airpوort (MZR) is Termez Airport (TMJ), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) N of MZR.

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• The Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.
• Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The political status of the island was uncertain at first, with American and British settlers occupying two separate camps on the island.
• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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 airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.