Nonstop flight route between Orcas Island, Washington, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ), Orcas Island, Washington, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,873 miles (or 11,060 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 Rosario Seaplane Base 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 Rosario Seaplane Base 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 Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ):

• In addition to being known as "Rosario Seaplane Base", another name for RSJ is "W49".
• The closest airport to Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ) is Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of RSJ.
• The furthest airport from Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,715 miles (17,244 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Rosario Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Rosario Seaplane Base 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.
• Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ) has 2 runways.

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.
• 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 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• A perimeter was quickly secured around the terminal building and airstrip, and initially all troops worked and lived in and around the main terminal building itself.
• Coalition presence increases
• 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 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".
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.