Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kagoshima, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kagoshima Airport (KOJ), Kagoshima, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,803 miles (or 9,339 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Kagoshima 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Kagoshima 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• Because of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,929 miles (19,198 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Component operates seventeen Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft all of which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe Trainer Cargo Aircraft but which have since been retired).
• In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defence Planning Committee granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters.
• Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
• The fleet of E-3's has remained in operation since the Cold War and has adapted its mission to emerging security threats, primarily in European airspace.
• The closest airport to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSE of GKE.

Facts about Kagoshima Airport (KOJ):

• The closest airport to Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is Miyazaki Airport (KMI), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) E of KOJ.
• Because of Kagoshima Airport's relatively low elevation of 892 feet, planes can take off or land at Kagoshima 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kagoshima Airport", other names for KOJ include "鹿児島空港" and "Kagoshima Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is Salgado Filho International Airport (POA), which is nearly antipodal to Kagoshima Airport (meaning Kagoshima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salgado Filho International Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) currently has only 1 runway.