Nonstop flight route between Rygge (near Moss), Norway and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG), Rygge (near Moss), Norway and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,158 miles (or 5,082 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 Moss Airport, Rygge 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 Moss Airport, Rygge 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 Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG):

• Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In January 2007, the charter operators Star Tour, Apollo and MyTravel Airways announced that they would start operating charter flights from 1 October.
• In January, Rygge was, with 24,400 passengers, larger than Torp in domestic traffic.
• The closest airport to Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG) is Sandefjord Airport, Torp (TRF), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SW of RYG.
• Rygge Air Station is home to the 720 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which operates Bell 412 helicopters, the 717 Squadron which operates Dassault Falcon 20 jets, and a detachment of the 330 Squadron which operates Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters.
• Moss Airport, Rygge handled 1,667,705 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Moss Airport, Rygge", another name for RYG is "Moss lufthavn, Rygge".
• Because of Moss Airport, Rygge's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Moss Airport, Rygge 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 furthest airport from Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,319 miles (18,216 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In February 1999, Minister of Transport and Communications Dag Jostein Fjærvoll stated that he supported the opening of civilian traffic from Rygge.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• 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.
• During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the airfield was used intensively by the Soviet Air Forces, both as logistical facility for flying in troops and supplies and as a base for launching airstrikes against local Mujahideen groups.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
• Since 2007, the airport is maintained by NATO under the International Security Assistance Force banner, although a prominent base for the US and Canadian Forces, many other Armed Forces are based there.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.