Nonstop flight route between Guápiles, Costa Rica and Berlin, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Guápiles Airport (GPL), Guápiles, Costa Rica and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,948 miles (or 9,572 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 Guápiles Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow, 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 Guápiles Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow. 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 Guápiles Airport (GPL):

• The closest airport to Guápiles Airport (GPL) is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) SW of GPL.
• Because of Guápiles Airport's relatively low elevation of 883 feet, planes can take off or land at Guápiles 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.
• Guápiles Airport (GPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Guápiles Airport (GPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Guápiles Airport (meaning Guápiles Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,294 miles (19,785 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• The closest airport to Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of GWW.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe as a staff and technical college, Luftkriegsschule 2 Berlin-Gatow, in imitation of the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell.
• RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time.
• These aircraft were also used for reconnaissance missions in co-operation with The British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to the Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany, commonly known as BRIXMIS.
• The furthest airport from Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,694 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• To commemorate Australian participation in the Airlift, the Royal Australian Air Force presented RAF Gatow with a retired Douglas Dakota in the 1980s, to use as a gate guardian.
• The first landing by a Royal Air Force aircraft was by Avro Anson serial number PW698 on 2 July 1945 at 11.55 hours.
• Alongside the Royal Air Force and various British civil aviation companies, the United States Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the South African Air Force all flew supplies into RAF Gatow during the Airlift.
• Because of Royal Air Force Station Gatow's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 history of RAF Gatow and of western forces in Berlin from 1945 to 1994 is told in the Alliiertenmuseum, or the Allied Museum.