Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Sandakan, Malaysia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GWW to SDK:
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- About this route
- GWW Airport Information
- SDK Airport Information
- Facts about GWW
- Facts about SDK
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWW
- List of Nearest Airports to GWW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWW
- List of Furthest Airports from GWW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDK
- List of Nearest Airports to SDK
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDK
- List of Furthest Airports from SDK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Sandakan Airport (SDK), Sandakan, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,513 miles (or 10,482 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 Sandakan 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 Sandakan Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWW / EDBG |
Airport Name: | Royal Air Force Station Gatow |
Location: | Berlin, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°28'27"N by 13°8'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: Bundeswehr |
Airport Type: | Military (airport no longer in operation) |
Elevation: | 161 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWW |
More Information: | GWW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDK / WBKS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Sandakan, Malaysia |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°54'6"N by 118°2'54"E |
Area Served: | Sandakan Division, Sabah, East Malaysia |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Malaysia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 46 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDK |
More Information: | SDK Maps & Info |
Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):
- BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
- 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.
- In November 1948, the latest RAF transport aircraft, the Handley Page Hastings, was added to the squadrons flying into RAF Gatow and some aircrews and aircraft were redeployed to train replacement aircrews.
- The closest military neighbour to RAF Gatow was a tank unit of the National People's Army of East Germany.
- 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.
- The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is partially set in RAF Gatow at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and is notable for its accurate descriptions of the Station, including corridors and rooms within it.
- 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 RAF Gatow Station Flight used two De Havilland Chipmunk T10s, one of which is now in the Alliiertenmuseum, to maintain and exercise the British legal right under the Potsdam Agreement to use the airspace over both West and East Berlin, as well as the air corridors to and from West Germany to the city.
- 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 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.
Facts about Sandakan Airport (SDK):
- Because of Sandakan Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Sandakan 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.
- Sandakan Airport (SDK) currently has only 1 runway.
- Sandakan Airport handled 911,855 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Sandakan Airport (SDK) is Lahad Datu Airport (LDU), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) SSE of SDK.
- The furthest airport from Sandakan Airport (SDK) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sandakan Airport (meaning Sandakan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,290 miles (19,779 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
- In addition to being known as "Sandakan Airport", other names for SDK include "Lapangan Terbang Sandakan" and "山打根机场".