Nonstop flight route between Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, United States and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT), Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, United States and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,044 miles (or 8,117 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 Jack Brooks Regional 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 Jack Brooks Regional 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 Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT):

• Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT) is Beaumont Municipal Airport (BMT), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NW of BPT.
• On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita hit the Beaumont-Port Arthur area.
• Because of Jack Brooks Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Jack Brooks Regional 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.
• Currently, ground transportation is provided by United Express bus service to Houston Intercontinental Airport several times a day.
• The furthest airport from Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,026 miles (17,745 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

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

• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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 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).
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.