Nonstop flight route between Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,517 miles (or 16,926 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 Lord Howe Island 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 Lord Howe Island 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 Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH):

• Lord Howe Island is an important transit and refueling point for light aircraft flying between Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand.
• Lord Howe Island Airport served 33,385 revenue passengers during financial year 2009-2010,ranking it 64th amongst airports in Australia.
• The closest airport to Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH) is Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), which is located 363 miles (584 kilometers) WNW of LDH.
• Because of Lord Howe Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Lord Howe Island 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.
• Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH) is Madeira Airport (FNC), which is nearly antipodal to Lord Howe Island Airport (meaning Lord Howe Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Madeira Airport), and is located 12,181 miles (19,604 kilometers) away in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.

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

• 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 E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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.
• An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
• 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 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.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.