Nonstop flight route between Paris-Orly, Paris, France and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Paris Orly Airport (ORY), Paris-Orly, Paris, France and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 225 miles (or 362 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 Paris Orly 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 Paris Orly Airport (ORY):

• Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was the main airport of Paris.
• Paris Orly Airport (ORY) has 3 runways.
• The USAAF diagram from March 1947 shows the 6140-foot 27/207 runway with 5170-foot 81/261 runway crossing it at its north end.
• Originally known as Villeneuve-Orly Airport, the facility was opened in the southern suburbs of Paris in 1932 as a secondary airport to Le Bourget.
• Because of Paris Orly Airport's relatively low elevation of 291 feet, planes can take off or land at Paris Orly 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.
• Paris Orly Airport handled 28,274,154 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of ORY.
• In addition to being known as "Paris Orly Airport", another name for ORY is "Aéroport de Paris-Orly".
• The furthest airport from Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Paris Orly Airport (meaning Paris Orly Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,093 miles (19,461 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• 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.
• 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.