Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Salt Lake City, Utah, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,081 miles (or 8,177 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 Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• 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 Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.
• 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 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.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.

Facts about Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC):

• The closest airport to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is Skypark Airport (BTF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNE of SLC.
• Salt Lake City International Airport handled 20,102,078 passengers last year.
• Because of Salt Lake City International Airport's high elevation of 4,227 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,958 miles (17,635 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• 2007 data shows there are 388 general aviation aircraft based at the airport.
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) has 4 runways.
• In 1911 a site for an air field was chosen on Basque Flats, named for Spanish-French sheep herders who worked the fields in the then-desolate area of the Salt Lake Valley.
• As air travel became more popular and the United States Air Force established a base at the airport during World War II, a third runway was added.