Nonstop flight route between Sacramento, California, United States and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California, United States and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,563 miles (or 12,171 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 Sacramento International 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 Sacramento International 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 Sacramento International Airport (SMF):

• The closest airport to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of SMF.
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has 2 runways.
• Due to housing growth around Sacramento Executive Airport, the City of Sacramento Planning Department and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors commissioned a study in the 1950s to move airline flights to a less populated area.
• In 2011 the airport carried an estimated 9 million passengers.
• Sacramento International Airport is a public airport 10 miles northwest of downtown Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California.
• The consolidated rental car terminal, the first of its kind in the nation, gave all rental car customers a single point of access that could be reached on a single shuttle.
• In 2006 Sacramento International Airport was one of the first airports in the nation to offer free wireless Internet service.
• Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and Trans World Airlines were added to the list of carriers at Sacramento.
• On June 7, 2006, plans were announced to replace the aging Terminal B with a brand new terminal by the year 2012.
• Sacramento International Airport handled 8,910,570 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,280 miles (18,154 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Sacramento International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Sacramento International Airport 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.

Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):

• With the closure of Camp Julien in Kabul in November 2005, most of the Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan were transferred to Kandahar province.
• Kandahar International Airport is located 10 miles south-east of Kandahar City in Afghanistan.
• The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• 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.
• 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.
• Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".