Nonstop flight route between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,248 miles (or 2,009 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 relatively short distance between King Khalid International Airport and Kabul International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about King Khalid International Airport (RUH):

• KKIA has more than 500,000 square metres of landscaping.
• The 1703rd ARW was composed mainly of KC-135 Stratotankers and used the north western firehouse as its headquarters of air operations.
• King Khalid International Airport handled 13,919,000 passengers last year.
• A general aviation complex has been constructed north of runway number 1 for use by private aircraft and is reached by a special access road which runs north from the airport access highway.
• The closest airport to King Khalid International Airport (RUH) is Dawadmi Domestic Airport (DWD), which is located 166 miles (266 kilometers) WSW of RUH.
• The furthest airport from King Khalid International Airport (RUH) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Khalid International Airport (meaning King Khalid International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,273 miles (19,752 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• King Khalid International Airport (RUH) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "King Khalid International Airport", another name for RUH is "مطار الملك خالد الدولي".
• Heads of state and other high-ranking VIP visitors to the Kingdom are greeted in the Royal Pavilion.
• There is a total of 1,196 metres of the walkways, which are actually wide conveyor belts which operate at floor level and move at a speed of close to 1 metre per second.
• Passengers going from one terminal to another at King Khalid International Airport can utilize moving sidewalks for transportation.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• Coalition presence increases
• In July 2007, the post of Commander, Kandahar Airfield was created as a NATO appointment which, until recently, has been held by an officer of the Royal Air Force of OF-6 rank.
• 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 airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• 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 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.
• 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.