Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Obihiro, Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Tokachi-Obihiro Airport (OBO), Obihiro, Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,471 miles (or 8,804 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 Tokachi-Obihiro 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 Tokachi-Obihiro 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 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.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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 Tokachi-Obihiro Airport (OBO):

• The closest airport to Tokachi-Obihiro Airport (OBO) is Kushiro Airport (KUH), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) ENE of OBO.
• Because of Tokachi-Obihiro Airport's relatively low elevation of 490 feet, planes can take off or land at Tokachi-Obihiro 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.
• In addition to being known as "Tokachi-Obihiro Airport", another name for OBO is "とかち帯広空港".
• The furthest airport from Tokachi-Obihiro Airport (OBO) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,320 miles (18,218 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Tokachi-Obihiro Airport (OBO) currently has only 1 runway.