Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Qaisumah, Hafar Al-Batin, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI), Qaisumah, Hafar Al-Batin, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,594 miles (or 4,175 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Qaisumah Domestic Airport, 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Qaisumah Domestic Airport. 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.

Facts about Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI):

• Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport began in 1962 as a dusty runway for a Dakota aircraft which was used at that time for transporting Saudi Aramco employees between stations in the northern region.
• In addition to being known as "Qaisumah Domestic Airport", another name for AQI is "مطار القيصومة المحلي".
• The closest airport to Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI) is Kuwait International Airport (KWI), which is located 128 miles (206 kilometers) ENE of AQI.
• The furthest airport from Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Qaisumah Domestic Airport (meaning Qaisumah Domestic Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,069 miles (19,423 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.