Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Mianyang, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), Mianyang, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,913 miles (or 7,907 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 Mianyang Nanjiao 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 Mianyang Nanjiao 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):

• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG):

• Mianyang Nanjiao Airport handled 622,816 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Mianyang Nanjiao Airport", other names for MIG include "绵阳南郊机场" and "Miányáng Nánjiāo Jīchǎng".
• Opened on 28 April 2001, Mianyang Nanjiao is the second largest airport in Sichuan after Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
• Mianyang Nanjiao Airport has a 2,400-meter runway capable of handling major aircraft including the Boeing 737.
• The furthest airport from Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (meaning Mianyang Nanjiao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,621 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• The closest airport to Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG) is Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) SW of MIG.
• Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG) currently has only 1 runway.