Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Hat Yai International Airport (HDY), Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,035 miles (or 9,712 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 Hat Yai 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 Hat Yai 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):

• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Hat Yai International Airport (HDY):

• During the 2005 Songkhla bombings, a bomb planted at the departure lounge by Pattani separatists exploded on April 3, 2005, killing one passenger and injuring 10.
• Because of Hat Yai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 90 feet, planes can take off or land at Hat Yai 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.
• Hat Yai International Airport (HDY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Hat Yai International Airport (HDY) is Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) S of HDY.
• In addition to being known as "Hat Yai International Airport", another name for HDY is "ท่าอากาศยานหาดใหญ่".
• The furthest airport from Hat Yai International Airport (HDY) is Cap. FAP José A. Quiñones González International Airport (CIX), which is nearly antipodal to Hat Yai International Airport (meaning Hat Yai International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP José A. Quiñones González International Airport), and is located 12,419 miles (19,986 kilometers) away in Chiclayo, Peru.
• Hat Yai International Airport handled 2,465,370 passengers last year.