Nonstop flight route between Porto, Portugal and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), Porto, Portugal and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 971 miles (or 1,562 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 Francisco Sá Carneiro 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 Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO):

• Because of Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Francisco Sá Carneiro 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 closest airport to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of OPO.
• STCP buses also link the airport and the city.
• Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport handled 6,050,094 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport", another name for OPO is "Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro".
• The furthest airport from Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) is Westport Airport (WSZ), which is nearly antipodal to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (meaning Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Westport Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Westport, New Zealand.
• On 25 February 2008, Airports Council International announced that according to its 2007 Airport Service Quality Survey, Porto placed first overall in Europe for service and placed fourth among airports worldwide having fewer than 5 million passengers.
• Along with the airports in Lisbon, Horta, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Ponta Delgada and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
• The airport is served by Line E of the Porto Metro.

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

• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.