Nonstop flight route between Gustavus, Alaska, United States and Ramstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gustavus Airport (GST), Gustavus, Alaska, United States and Ramstein Air Base (RMS), Ramstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,700 miles (or 7,563 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 Gustavus Airport and Ramstein Air Base, 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 Gustavus Airport and Ramstein Air Base. 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 Gustavus Airport (GST):

• Gustavus Airport (GST) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gustavus Airport (GST) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,541 miles (16,964 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Gustavus Airport's relatively low elevation of 35 feet, planes can take off or land at Gustavus 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.
• The closest airport to Gustavus Airport (GST) is Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base (EXI), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) E of GST.

Facts about Ramstein Air Base (RMS):

• One legacy of the two separate air bases is that the north side of Ramstein retained a separate APO from the south side.
• The furthest airport from Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Ramstein Air Base (meaning Ramstein Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,003 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Also at Ramstein is the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, which focuses on base-support responsibilities within the KMC.
• With the creation of NATO in response to Cold War tensions in Europe in 1949, USAFE wanted its vulnerable fighter units in what was then West Germany moved west of the Rhine River to provide greater air defense warning time.
• On 31 January 1973, several headquarters were relocated into and out of Ramstein, when Seventeenth AF moved to Sembach Air Base to make room for the expected move of HQ USAFE to Ramstein.
• The closest airport to Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of RMS.
• In addition to being known as "Ramstein Air Base", another name for RMS is "Ramstein AB".
• While the KMC remains the largest U.S. community overseas at 53,000 people, the defense drawdown continues to shape its future.