Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Puerto Limón, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Limón International Airport (LIO), Puerto Limón, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,645 miles (or 9,084 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 Limón 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 Limón 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):

• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Limón International Airport (LIO):

• Nature Air domestic airline currently only flies charter flights to Limón.
• In addition to being known as "Limón International Airport", another name for LIO is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Limón".
• The furthest airport from Limón International Airport (LIO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Limón International Airport (meaning Limón International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,282 miles (19,766 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Limón International Airport (LIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Limón International Airport (LIO) is Changuinola "Capitan Manuel Niño" International Airport (CHX), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) SE of LIO.
• Because of Limón International Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Limón 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.