Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kiruna, Sweden:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GKE to KRN:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- KRN Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about KRN
- 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 KRN
- List of Nearest Airports to KRN
- Map of Furthest Airports from KRN
- List of Furthest Airports from KRN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kiruna Airport (KRN), Kiruna, Sweden would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,262 miles (or 2,030 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 relatively short distance between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Kiruna Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | KRN / ESNQ |
Airport Name: | Kiruna Airport |
Location: | Kiruna, Sweden |
GPS Coordinates: | 67°49'19"N by 20°20'12"E |
Operator/Owner: | Swedavia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1509 feet (460 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KRN |
More Information: | KRN Maps & Info |
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.
- 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 Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Kiruna Airport (KRN):
- Kiruna Airport (KRN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Kiruna Airport (KRN) is Gällivare Airport (GEV), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KRN.
- On March 15, 2012, a Norwegian military transport plane, type Lockheed Hercules, crashed into the Kebnekaise mountain when approaching Kiruna Airport, the Norwegian C-130 Hercules accident.
- The furthest airport from Kiruna Airport (KRN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,169 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.