Nonstop flight route between Loja, Ecuador and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH), Loja, Ecuador and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,234 miles (or 10,032 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 Camilo Ponce Enriquez 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 Camilo Ponce Enriquez 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 Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH):

• Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH) is José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) SW of LOH.
• The furthest airport from Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH) is Sitiawan Airport (SWY), which is nearly antipodal to Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (meaning Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sitiawan Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Perak, Malaysia.
• Because of Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport's high elevation of 4,056 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LOH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LOH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• 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.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• 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.
• An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• 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.
• 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.