Nonstop flight route between Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia, China and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport (AXF), Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia, China and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,567 miles (or 7,350 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 Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot 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 Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot 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 Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport (AXF):

• The furthest airport from Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport (AXF) is Pichoy Airport (ZAL), which is nearly antipodal to Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport (meaning Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pichoy Airport), and is located 12,347 miles (19,871 kilometers) away in Valdivia, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport", another name for AXF is "阿拉善左旗巴彦浩特机场".
• The closest airport to Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport (AXF) is Yinchuan Hedong International Airport (INC), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) SE of AXF.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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).
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• 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.
• 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.