Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Mirabel (near Montreal), Quebec, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX), Mirabel (near Montreal), Quebec, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,513 miles (or 5,653 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 Montréal–Mirabel 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 Montréal–Mirabel 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):

• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX):

• Because of Montréal–Mirabel International Airport's relatively low elevation of 271 feet, planes can take off or land at Montréal–Mirabel International 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.
• In December 2006, in a move he called "correcting a historical injustice," Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the return of 4,450 hectares of farmland expropriated to build Mirabel airport.
• In August 2008, the Agence métropolitaine de transport said it was willing to extend its commuter rail service to the airport if passenger traffic were to return.
• In addition to being known as "Montréal–Mirabel International Airport", another name for YMX is "Aéroport international Montréal–Mirabel".
• The C$716 million expansion of Dorval from 2000–2005 gave it the ability to serve 20 million passengers a year, ironically accomplishing one of the goals that was to be met with the construction of Mirabel.
• The federal government predicted that Dorval would be completely saturated by 1985 as part of its justification for building Mirabel.
• The furthest airport from Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,493 miles (18,495 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Today, Montréal–Mirabel International Airport is used almost exclusively for cargo flights, with passenger operations having ceased on October 31, 2004, twenty-nine years after the airport's opening and many years of limited, primarily charter service.
• The closest airport to Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) is Cartierville Airport (YCV), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SE of YMX.
• Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) has 2 runways.