Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Louisville International Airport (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,305 miles (or 6,929 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 Louisville International 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 Louisville International 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 Louisville International Airport (SDF):

• The 1980s brought plans for a new terminal, the Louisville Airport Improvement plan.
• Louisville International Airport handled 3,349,162 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Louisville International Airport (SDF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,239 miles (18,088 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Louisville International Airport (SDF) has 3 runways.
• Worldport is the worldwide air hub for UPS located at the Louisville International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky.
• When Louisville International Airport was built by the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Louisville International Airport", another name for SDF is "Standiford Field".
• The closest airport to Louisville International Airport (SDF) is Bowman Field (LOU), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SDF.
• Until around 1947 Bowman Field was Louisville's main airport.
• It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.
• Because of Louisville International Airport's relatively low elevation of 501 feet, planes can take off or land at Louisville 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.

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

• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• 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).