Nonstop flight route between San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,988 miles (or 12,855 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 Gillespie Field 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 Gillespie Field 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 Gillespie Field (SEE):

• The FAA says in 2010 Gillespie Field was the 44th busiest airport in the United States.
• The closest airport to Gillespie Field (SEE) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of SEE.
• In 1946 the airfield was turned over to San Diego County and became a general aviation facility.
• Because of Gillespie Field's relatively low elevation of 388 feet, planes can take off or land at Gillespie Field 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 Gillespie Field (SEE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,534 miles (18,562 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Gillespie Field (SEE) has 3 runways.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (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 airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million.
• 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 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.
• During Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001, Kandahar Airport was one of the first coalition bases established in Afghanistan.
• 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of 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".