Nonstop flight route between Fangatau, French Polynesia and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fangatau Airport (FGU), Fangatau, French Polynesia and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,398 miles (or 15,125 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 Fangatau 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 Fangatau 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 Fangatau Airport (FGU):

• The closest airport to Fangatau Airport (FGU) is Raroia Airport (RRR), which is located 107 miles (172 kilometers) W of FGU.
• Because of Fangatau Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Fangatau 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.
• Fangatau Airport (FGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Fangatau Airport", another name for FGU is "Aérodrome de Fangatau".
• The furthest airport from Fangatau Airport (FGU) is Massawa International Airport (MSW), which is nearly antipodal to Fangatau Airport (meaning Fangatau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Massawa International Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,984 kilometers) away in Massawa, Eritrea.

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located in the Federal Republic of Germany, near the village of Teveren and six kilometers west of the town of Geilenkirchen.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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 E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.