Nonstop flight route between Ramstein, Germany and Rockford, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ramstein Air Base (RMS), Ramstein, Germany and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), Rockford, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,352 miles (or 7,004 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 Chicago Rockford International 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 Chicago Rockford International 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ramstein Air Base", another name for RMS is "Ramstein AB".
• Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in south-western Germany.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1940, construction of today's Bundesautobahn 6 was stopped when a bridge that was being built across the Rhine River near Mannheim collapsed, leaving a section of autobahn that could not be used.
• Allied Air Forces Central Europe was established at Ramstein on 28 June 1974.
• The host unit is the 86th Airlift Wing, commanded by Brigadier General Patrick X.
• 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.

Facts about Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD):

• Several airlines have previously served the airport including United Express, Hooters Air, Frontier, Midwest Connect, Midway Connection, Trans Meridian, American Eagle, TWA, Ozark, McClain, Direct Air, Northwest Airlink, etc.
• The airport is in a foreign-trade zone.
• Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) has 2 runways.
• RFD was once the company headquarters for Ryan International Airlines, staging many of its aircraft at the airport for charter hire.
• Because of Chicago Rockford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 742 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Rockford International 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.
• Today the Rockford airport is marketed to residents of Rockford and surrounding areas as an alternative to Chicago Midway International Airport and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, WI and Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin as well as limited service airports such as Dubuque Regional Airport in Iowa.
• Following the war, the state of Illinois adopted the Airport Authority Act.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL), which is located 30 miles (47 kilometers) N of RFD.
• The current terminal was built in 1987 in an effort to expand airline service in Rockford, but the common use of bus service to O'Hare International Airport kept most airlines away from Rockford.