Nonstop flight route between Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Edinburgh, United Kingdom and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 518 miles (or 833 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 relatively short distance between Edinburgh Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Edinburgh Airport (EDI):

• Edinburgh Airport (EDI) has 2 runways.
• Because of Edinburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 136 feet, planes can take off or land at Edinburgh 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 1971 the British Airports Authority took over the airport and immediately started to expand it by constructing a new runway and terminal building.
• The closest airport to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Perth Airport (PSL), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) N of EDI.
• Edinburgh Airport handled 9,775,443 passengers last year.
• The airport lies on the A8 Glasgow-Edinburgh road, and can be easily reached by the M8 and the M9.
• The only international services from Edinburgh during the 1980s were to Amsterdam and Dublin, but in the following years links were opened to destinations in France and Germany.
• The likelihood of an additional runway has been thrown into doubt following a revised masterplan in January 2011, with passenger numbers expected to be lower than previously thought - 12.3 million by 2020 and 20 million by 2040.
• The furthest airport from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• 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 E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.