Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Gaoua, Burkina Faso:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Gaoua Airport (XGA), Gaoua, Burkina Faso would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,852 miles (or 4,590 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 Gaoua 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 Gaoua 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 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 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.
• 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 E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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 Gaoua Airport (XGA):

• Gaoua Airport (XGA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gaoua Airport (XGA) is Diébougou Airport (XDE), which is located 39 miles (64 kilometers) N of XGA.
• The furthest airport from Gaoua Airport (XGA) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Gaoua Airport (meaning Gaoua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,231 miles (19,684 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.