Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ), Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,866 miles (or 6,222 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• 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 Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• 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 fleet of E-3's has remained in operation since the Cold War and has adapted its mission to emerging security threats, primarily in European airspace.

Facts about Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ):

• The furthest airport from Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,774 miles (18,948 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Ngari Gunsa Airport's high elevation of 14,022 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NGQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NGQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Ngari Gunsa Airport", other names for NGQ include "阿里昆莎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Ālǐ Kūnshā Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Bhuntar Airport (KUU), which is located 171 miles (275 kilometers) W of NGQ.