Nonstop flight route between Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,954 miles (or 9,582 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO):

• In 1996 the whole airport complex received its major renovation in which the runway and adjoining taxiway were extended from 1,800m to 2,100m and a new larger apron was built.
• The airport is located 18 km from downtown Ribeirão Preto.
• The closest airport to Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) is Ten. Lund Presetto State Airport (FRC), which is located 46 miles (73 kilometers) NE of RAO.
• Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport handled 1,077,010 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (meaning Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,106 miles (19,482 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport", another name for RAO is "Aeroporto Estadual Dr. Leite Lopes".

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.
• 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.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.