Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Haikou, Hainan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), Haikou, Hainan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,753 miles (or 9,258 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 Haikou Meilan International 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 Haikou Meilan International 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):

• 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.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK):

• The furthest airport from Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), which is nearly antipodal to Haikou Meilan International Airport (meaning Haikou Meilan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diego Aracena International Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Iquique, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Haikou Meilan International Airport", other names for HAK include "海口美兰国际机场", "Hǎikǒu Měilán Guójì Jīchǎng" and "ZJHK[1]".
• The closest airport to Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) N of HAK.
• A new, international terminal opened on August 14, 2013.
• Because of Haikou Meilan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Haikou Meilan International 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.
• Haikou Meilan International Airport handled 10,167,818 passengers last year.
• Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) currently has only 1 runway.