Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Bloomington, Minnesota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP), Bloomington, Minnesota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,253 miles (or 6,845 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 Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain 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 Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain 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):

• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP):

• In terms of passengers, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport is the 17th busiest airport in the United States and 41st busiest airport in the world in 2012.
• Concourses A and B opened on June 1, 2002 as part of a $250 million terminal expansion designed by Minneapolis-based Architectural Alliance.
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport handled 33,897,335 passengers last year.
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP) has 4 runways.
• Because of Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport's relatively low elevation of 841 feet, planes can take off or land at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain 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.
• By May 2012 Great Lakes Airlines was adding services to small communities that had been ended by the legacy carriers earlier in the airport's history.
• The METRO light rail Blue Line has stops at both the Hub Building Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 Humphrey Terminal.
• The furthest airport from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,758 miles (17,313 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport's police department is recognized as having one of the best trained K-9 units in the United States.
• The closest airport to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP) is St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of MSP.