Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Macará, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR), Macará, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,279 miles (or 10,105 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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):

• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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 José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR):

• In addition to being known as "José María Velasco Ibarra Airport", another name for MRR is "Aeropuerto J.M. Velasco Ibarra".
• The closest airport to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) NE of MRR.
• The furthest airport from José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Sitiawan Airport (SWY), which is nearly antipodal to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (meaning José María Velasco Ibarra Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sitiawan Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Perak, Malaysia.