Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Long Beach, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Long Beach Airport (JLB), Long Beach, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,670 miles (or 9,124 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach 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):

• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.

Facts about Long Beach Airport (JLB):

• Long Beach Airport handled 2,978,433 passengers last year.
• Long Beach Airport (JLB) has 5 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Long Beach Airport", other names for JLB include "LGB", "KLGB" and "LGB".
• Long Beach Transit Routes 111, 104, 102, and 176 serve the airport.
• The closest airport to Long Beach Airport (JLB) is Long Beach Airport (LGB), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of JLB.
• So the Navy had begun a survey for another site — unknown to city officials at the time.
• The furthest airport from Long Beach Airport (JLB) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,489 miles (18,489 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• During the 1940s and 1950s, the only airline non-stops from Long Beach Airport were to Los Angeles, San Diego, and sometimes Catalina Island.
• In 1981, the startup airline Jet America began non-stop MD-80 service to Chicago and, in 1982, to Dallas-Fort Worth.
• Because of Long Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Long Beach 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.
• Commercial flights are restricted, but there are still many charters, private aviation, flight schools, law enforcement flights, helicopters, advertising blimps, planes towing advertising banners, etc.