Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Quibdó, Colombia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and El Caraño Airport (UIB), Quibdó, Colombia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,595 miles (or 9,004 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 El Caraño 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 El Caraño 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):

• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.
• 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.
• Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
• 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.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• 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.
• 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 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).

Facts about El Caraño Airport (UIB):

• El Caraño Airport (UIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from El Caraño Airport (UIB) is Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II) (TKG), which is nearly antipodal to El Caraño Airport (meaning El Caraño Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II)), and is located 12,308 miles (19,808 kilometers) away in Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• Because of El Caraño Airport's relatively low elevation of 204 feet, planes can take off or land at El Caraño 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 closest airport to El Caraño Airport (UIB) is Reyes Murillo Airport (NQU), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of UIB.
• In addition to being known as "El Caraño Airport", another name for UIB is "Aeropuerto El Caraño".