Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Beihai, Guangxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY), Beihai, Guangxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,619 miles (or 9,043 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 Beihai Fucheng 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 Beihai Fucheng 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 Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY):

• The furthest airport from Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY) is Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), which is nearly antipodal to Beihai Fucheng Airport (meaning Beihai Fucheng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diego Aracena International Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,891 kilometers) away in Iquique, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Beihai Fucheng Airport", other names for BHY include "北海福成机场", "Běihǎi Fúchéng Jīchǎng" and "ZSBH".
• The closest airport to Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY) is Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) ESE of BHY.
• Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY) currently has only 1 runway.