Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ), Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,011 miles (or 8,065 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho 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):

• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ):

• Petrolina Airport handles the exportation of fresh fruits from the São Francisco valley to Europe and the US.
• Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport handled 473,482 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) is Falalop Airfield (ULI), which is nearly antipodal to Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (meaning Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Falalop Airfield), and is located 12,385 miles (19,931 kilometers) away in Falalop Island, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
• Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) is Barra Airport (BQQ), which is located 209 miles (337 kilometers) SW of PNZ.
• In addition to being known as "Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport", another name for PNZ is "Aeroporto de Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho".