Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Garachiné, Panama:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Garachiné Airport (GHE), Garachiné, Panama would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,543 miles (or 8,921 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 Garachiné 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 Garachiné 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):

• 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).
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• 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 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.

Facts about Garachiné Airport (GHE):

• The furthest airport from Garachiné Airport (GHE) is Fatmawati Soekarno Airport (BKS), which is nearly antipodal to Garachiné Airport (meaning Garachiné Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fatmawati Soekarno Airport), and is located 12,142 miles (19,541 kilometers) away in Bengkulu, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Garachiné Airport (GHE) is Contadora Airport (OTD), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NW of GHE.
• Garachiné Airport (GHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Garachiné Airport", another name for GHE is "Aeropuerto de Garachiné".