Nonstop flight route between Ramstein, Germany and Alexander Bay, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ramstein Air Base (RMS), Ramstein, Germany and Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ), Alexander Bay, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,418 miles (or 8,720 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 Ramstein Air Base and Alexander Bay Airport, 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 Ramstein Air Base and Alexander Bay Airport. 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 Ramstein Air Base (RMS):

• The new 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on 4 September 2008.
• The 86th Air Base Group was activated as the main base support unit for Landstuhl, while the 7030th HQ Support Group was the main base support unit for Ramstein.
• On 31 January 1973, several headquarters were relocated into and out of Ramstein, when Seventeenth AF moved to Sembach Air Base to make room for the expected move of HQ USAFE to Ramstein.
• The furthest airport from Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Ramstein Air Base (meaning Ramstein Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,003 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• While the KMC remains the largest U.S. community overseas at 53,000 people, the defense drawdown continues to shape its future.
• In addition to being known as "Ramstein Air Base", another name for RMS is "Ramstein AB".
• Ramstein's wings are assigned to the headquarters 3rd Air Force also based at Ramstein AB, which controls most of the USAF Wings throughout Europe.
• On 1 June 1953 Ramstein Air Station was opened.
• The closest airport to Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of RMS.

Facts about Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ):

• The closest airport to Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) is Kleinsee Airport (KLZ), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) SSE of ALJ.
• Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,931 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Alexander Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 98 feet, planes can take off or land at Alexander Bay 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.