Nonstop flight route between Songpan County, Sichuan, China and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH), Songpan County, Sichuan, China and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,799 miles (or 7,723 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 Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, 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 Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component. 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 Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH):

• The closest airport to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 116 miles (187 kilometers) SSE of JZH.
• Because of Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport's high elevation of 11,312 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JZH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JZH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport", other names for JZH include "九寨黄龙机场" and "Jiǔzhài Huánglóng Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (meaning Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,156 miles (19,563 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• Due to the elevation of 3,448 m, some passengers may experience symptoms of altitude sickness.
• Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• The furthest airport from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,929 miles (19,198 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base of the E­3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.
• The Component operates seventeen Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft all of which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe Trainer Cargo Aircraft but which have since been retired).
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• Because of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSE of GKE.
• The fleet of E-3's has remained in operation since the Cold War and has adapted its mission to emerging security threats, primarily in European airspace.