Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,252 miles (or 6,842 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 Myrtle Beach 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 Myrtle Beach 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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 Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR):

• Myrtle Beach International Airport handled 1,664,917 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,632 miles (18,719 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) is Grand Strand Airport (CRE), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of MYR.
• Because of Myrtle Beach International Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Myrtle Beach 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.
• The airport has seven gates with expansion under way to add six more by July 2012.
• Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States.
• Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) currently has only 1 runway.
• On April 1, 1996, Myrtle Beach Airport became an international airport.