Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Ilorin, Nigeria:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GKE to ILR:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- ILR Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about ILR
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to ILR
- List of Nearest Airports to ILR
- Map of Furthest Airports from ILR
- List of Furthest Airports from ILR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Ilorin International Airport (ILR), Ilorin, Nigeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,939 miles (or 4,730 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 Ilorin 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 Ilorin International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GKE / ETNG |
Airport Name: | NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component |
Location: | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°57'38"N by 6°2'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | NATO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 296 feet (90 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GKE |
More Information: | GKE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ILR / DNIL |
Airport Name: | Ilorin International Airport |
Location: | Ilorin, Nigeria |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°26'26"N by 4°29'39"E |
Area Served: | Ilorin, Nigeria |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1126 feet (343 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from ILR |
More Information: | ILR Maps & Info |
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Ilorin International Airport (ILR):
- The closest airport to Ilorin International Airport (ILR) is Ibadan Airport (IBA), which is located 82 miles (133 kilometers) SSW of ILR.
- The furthest airport from Ilorin International Airport (ILR) is Wallis Island (WLS), which is nearly antipodal to Ilorin International Airport (meaning Ilorin International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Wallis Island), and is located 12,100 miles (19,473 kilometers) away in Wallis and Futuna Islands.
- Ilorin International Airport (ILR) currently has only 1 runway.