Nonstop flight route between Kadhdhoo Island, Laamu Atoll, Maldives and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO), Kadhdhoo Island, Laamu Atoll, Maldives and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,151 miles (or 8,290 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 Kadhdhoo Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, 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 Kadhdhoo Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component. 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 Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO):

• In addition to being known as "Kadhdhoo Airport", another name for KDO is "ކައްދޫ އެއަރޕޯޓް".
• The closest airport to Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) is Thimarafushi Airport (TMF), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NW of KDO.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 4 feet above mean sea level.
• Excavation for the runway began on 11 January 1982, and the final layer of the runway was completed on 6 April 1986.
• Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,313 miles (18,206 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Because of Kadhdhoo Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Kadhdhoo 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base of the E­3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards.
• 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).
• 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.