Nonstop flight route between León, Spain and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between León Airport (LEN), León, Spain and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 799 miles (or 1,286 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 relatively short distance between León Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about León Airport (LEN):

• León Airport handled 30,890 passengers last year.
• León Airport, is an international airport located 6 kilometres from León, Spain.
• In 1994 the first stage of Leon's civil airport project was drawn up and a runway, a link road and an aircraft parking area were built and inaugurated in 1995.
• The furthest airport from León Airport (LEN) is Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), which is nearly antipodal to León Airport (meaning León Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kaikoura Aerodrome), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
• León Airport (LEN) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "León Airport", another name for LEN is "Aeropuerto de León".
• In the 1940s an aviation school was installed in the facilities, where the first pilots graduated at the General Aviation School.
• In 2007 a 3000 m new runway was inaugurated.
• The closest airport to León Airport (LEN) is Asturias Airport (OVD), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) NNW of LEN.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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.
• In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defence Planning Committee granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters.
• 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.
• The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.
• 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).