Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NZJ to KDH:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- NZJ Airport Information
- KDH Airport Information
- Facts about NZJ
- Facts about KDH
- Map of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to KDH
- List of Nearest Airports to KDH
- Map of Furthest Airports from KDH
- List of Furthest Airports from KDH
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,927 miles (or 12,757 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 MCAS El Toro 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 MCAS El Toro and Kabul International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NZJ / KNZJ |
| Airport Name: | MCAS El Toro |
| Location: | Santa Ana, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°40'33"N by 117°43'51"W |
| Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 383 feet (117 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 5 |
| View all routes: | Routes from NZJ |
| More Information: | NZJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | KDH / OAKN |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Kandahar, Afghanistan |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°30'25"N by 65°51'1"E |
| Area Served: | Southern Afghanistan |
| Operator/Owner: | Afghanistan |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military |
| Elevation: | 3330 feet (1,015 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KDH |
| More Information: | KDH Maps & Info |
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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 site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
- During the presidency of Richard M.
- In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):
- The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
- 2009 Surge and onwards
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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 159th Combat Aviation Brigade became the main U.S.
- 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.
- 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 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.
