Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kamloops Airport (YKA), Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,744 miles (or 7,635 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 Kamloops 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 Kamloops 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):

• An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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.

Facts about Kamloops Airport (YKA):

• On July 31, 2010, a Convair CV-580 airtanker operated by Convair Aviation, on route to the Kamloops Airport, crashed and was destroyed due to a local forest fire on the British Columbia Ministry of Forests land near Siwash Road, some 15 kilometres south of Lytton, British Columbia, a town in the Thompson region, along with Kamloops.
• Kamloops Airport (YKA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Kamloops Airport (YKA) is Merritt Airport (YMB), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) SSW of YKA.
• By 1951, the airport founded and became headquarters of Central British Columbia Airways, which was later known as Pacific Western Airlines, but is no longer existent.
• However, by 2009, its terminal, runway and navigation aids were upgraded with about $25 million, which was funded by the British Columbia government, who gave $4 million, the Canadian government, who gave $6.6 million and the airport itself for the remaining money and announced in 2007.
• The furthest airport from Kamloops Airport (YKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,541 miles (16,964 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition, the airport was used by the Royal Canadian Air Force as an alternate route for the no longer existent Air Transport Command for flights to the Soviet Union.
• Kamloops Airport handled 275,424 passengers last year.
• Formerly known as the Kamloops Aero Club, the Kamloops Flying Club operates at the airport, which is a club where children receive a flight in an airplane with the pilot and learn about the airplanes themselves.
• In addition to being known as "Kamloops Airport", another name for YKA is "Fulton Field".