Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH), Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,340 miles (or 6,984 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Southwest Michigan Regional 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Southwest Michigan Regional 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• The closest military neighbour to RAF Gatow was a tank unit of the National People's Army of East Germany.
• RAF Gatow was from 1970 also used by the UKs Army Air Corps, 7 Aviation Flight AAC, later renamed 7 Flight AAC being based at the station initially flying four Westland Sioux and later three Aérospatiale Gazelle AH 1 helicopters.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Gatow has the unique and unlikely distinction of being the base for the only known operational use of flying boats in central Europe, during the Berlin Blockade, on the nearby Großer Wannsee in the Havel river.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Berlin Airlift, the Station was modernised with a 2,000 yards long concrete runway, using 794 German workers, in March 1947.

Facts about Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH):

• Opened in 1973, the air traffic control tower sits abandoned to the present day after its closure during a 1981 controller strike.
• Because of Southwest Michigan Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 649 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Michigan Regional 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 furthest airport from Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,140 miles (17,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSE of BEH.
• There is no commercial airline with scheduled passenger service at the airport.
• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) has 3 runways.