Nonstop flight route between Stewart Island, New Zealand and Kandahar, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,315 miles (or 13,382 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• In 2000 Southern Air 1997 Ltd was bought by Stewart Island Flights, which uses Islanders FXE and FWZ, Cessna A185E Skywagon JEM and Piper PA32 Cherokee Sixs RTS and DIV aircraft in its service.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is at an elevation of 288 feet above mean sea level.
• The aerodrome was built in the late 1970s to accommodate Stewart Island Air Services.
• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.

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".
• 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.
• Coalition presence increases
• Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense.
• 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 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 closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
• 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.
• As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy also had based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces replacing USMC AV-8B's.