Nonstop flight route between Breda, Netherlands and Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ), Breda, Netherlands and Kirkwall Airport (KOI), Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 596 miles (or 959 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 relatively short distance between Gilze-Rijen Air Base and Kirkwall Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ):

• The furthest airport from Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1946, the Royal Netherlands Air Force resumed operations from the airfield, using it as a training base for pilots and air traffic controllers.
• In addition to being known as "Gilze-Rijen Air Base", another name for GLZ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-77)".
• Because of Gilze-Rijen Air Base's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Gilze-Rijen Air Base 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 1995, as a part of a large scale reorganistaion within the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the fighter aircraft were moved from Gilze-Rijen, and instead the base became the home of Bolkow BO-105 helicopters.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) has 2 runways.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base is one of the oldest airfields in the Netherlands, the first aircraft to have landed there being a Blériot in 1910.
• The closest airport to Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Eindhoven Airport (EIN), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) ESE of GLZ.
• In 2009, helicopter operations from Soesterberg Air Base were moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base, which resulted in CH-47 Chinook and AS 532 Cougar helicopters being based at the airfield as well as the Alouette III for VIP transport, making Gilze-Rijen the main operating base for military helicopters in the Netherlands.

Facts about Kirkwall Airport (KOI):

• The furthest airport from Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,525 miles (18,548 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Stronsay Airport (SOY), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of KOI.
• Because of Kirkwall Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirkwall 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.
• Kirkwall Airport handled 145,897 passengers last year.
• Kirkwall Airport (KOI) has 2 runways.