Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and El Aaiún (Laayoune), Morocco:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN), El Aaiún (Laayoune), Morocco would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,930 miles (or 3,106 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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).
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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.

Facts about Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN):

• Because of Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport's relatively low elevation of 207 feet, planes can take off or land at Hassan I Airport El Aaiún 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 addition to being known as "Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport", other names for EUN include "Aeropuerto de El Aaiún" and "GMML/GSAI".
• Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (meaning Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,288 miles (19,776 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• The closest airport to Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport (EUN) is Fuerteventura Airport (FUE), which is located 98 miles (158 kilometers) NNW of EUN.
• Hassan I Airport El Aaiún Airport handled 108,057 passengers last year.