Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Taizhou, Zhejiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Taizhou Luqiao Airport (HYN), Taizhou, Zhejiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,686 miles (or 9,150 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 Taizhou Luqiao 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 Taizhou Luqiao 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.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
• 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 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.

Facts about Taizhou Luqiao Airport (HYN):

• The furthest airport from Taizhou Luqiao Airport (HYN) is Mercedes Airport (MDX), which is nearly antipodal to Taizhou Luqiao Airport (meaning Taizhou Luqiao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mercedes Airport), and is located 12,383 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Mercedes, Corrientes, Argentina.
• Taizhou Luqiao Airport handled 616,861 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Taizhou Luqiao Airport", other names for HYN include "台州路桥机场" and "Táizhōu Lùqiáo Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Taizhou Luqiao Airport (HYN) is Wenzhou Longwan International Airport (WNZ), which is located 57 miles (92 kilometers) SW of HYN.
• Luqiao Airport was originally a military airfield belonging to the People's Liberation Army Navy.
• To handle the growing traffic volume, a new dedicated civil airport is being planned to replace Luqiao Airport, with an estimated total investment of 800 million to 1 billion yuan.
• Taizhou Luqiao Airport, formerly Huangyan Luqiao Airport, is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province, China.