Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Wilmington, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Wilmington International Airport (ILM), Wilmington, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,181 miles (or 6,728 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located in the Federal Republic of Germany, near the village of Teveren and six kilometers west of the town of Geilenkirchen.
• 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 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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.
• 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 Wilmington International Airport (ILM):

• Wilmington International Airport (ILM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of ILM.
• The airport began in 1927 as Bluethenthal Field, named for aviator Arthur Bluethenthal, the first Wilmingtonian to be killed in World War I.
• The New Hanover County Airport Authority has five board members.
• In addition to flights to its main regional hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, US Airways introduced three daily flights between Wilmington and La Guardia Airport in New York City during the 2000s following lobbying from the Wilmington community.
• The current airport director is Jon W.
• When the contamination of the site was discovered, about 500 people live within a mile of the Site.
• Because of Wilmington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington 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.
• In addition to being known as "Wilmington International Airport", another name for ILM is "New Hanover County International Airport".
• In 2009, the airport served over 800,000 passengers.
• The furthest airport from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,693 miles (18,818 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.