Nonstop flight route between Palmdale, California, United States and Kabul, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KBL), Kabul, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,633 miles (or 12,284 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 Palmdale Regional 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 Palmdale Regional 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 Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• The origins of Palmdale Regional Airport go to the early 1930s, when a small airstrip was built in the desert.
• The airport covers 5,832 acres at an elevation of 2,543 feet above mean sea level.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• Both the Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around.
• In 1940, Palmdale Army Airfield was activated as a United States Army Air Corps airfield for use as an emergency landing strip and for B-25 Mitchell medium bomber support training during World War II.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum and the adjacent Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark have recently been opened on Plant 42 property along Avenue P with displays of the SR-71, U-2, Century Series fighters and other aircraft designed, engineered, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KBL):

• Kabul Airport was originally built in the early 1960s by Soviet engineers.
• Afghan Air Force personnel are welcomed back home on the flight line of the AAF base in Kabul on Sep.
• Kabul International Airport (KBL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", another name for KBL is "میدان هوایی بین المللی کابل".
• Because of Kabul International Airport's high elevation of 5,877 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KBL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KBL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport has been expanded and modernized in the last decade.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Bagram Airfield (OAI), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) N of KBL.