Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Datong, Shanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Datong Yungang Airport (DAT), Datong, Shanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,780 miles (or 7,693 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 Datong Yungang 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 Datong Yungang 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Datong Yungang Airport (DAT):

• The furthest airport from Datong Yungang Airport (DAT) is Antoine de Saint Exupéry Airport (OES), which is nearly antipodal to Datong Yungang Airport (meaning Datong Yungang Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Antoine de Saint Exupéry Airport), and is located 12,345 miles (19,868 kilometers) away in San Antonio Oeste, Argentina.
• Datong Yungang Airport (DAT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Datong Yungang Airport handled 117,423 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Datong Yungang Airport", other names for DAT include "大同云冈机场" and "Dàtóng Yúngāng Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Datong Yungang Airport (DAT) is Zhangjiakou Ningyuan Airport (ZQZ), which is located 89 miles (144 kilometers) ENE of DAT.