Nonstop flight route between San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Cristóbal Airport (SCY), San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,513 miles (or 10,482 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 San Cristóbal 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 San Cristóbal 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 San Cristóbal Airport (SCY):

• The closest airport to San Cristóbal Airport (SCY) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) NW of SCY.
• Because of San Cristóbal Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at San Cristóbal 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.
• San Cristóbal Airport (SCY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from San Cristóbal Airport (SCY) is Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport (BTJ), which is located 11,965 miles (19,256 kilometers) away in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

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

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• The Component operates seventeen Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft all of which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe Trainer Cargo Aircraft but which have since been retired).
• Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base of the E­3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.