Nonstop flight route between Sofia, Bulgaria and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SOF to GKE:
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- About this route
- SOF Airport Information
- GKE Airport Information
- Facts about SOF
- Facts about GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SOF
- List of Nearest Airports to SOF
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOF
- List of Furthest Airports from SOF
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 996 miles (or 1,603 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 relatively short distance between Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SOF / LBSF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°41'42"N by 23°24'29"E |
Area Served: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
Operator/Owner: | Sofia Airport EAD |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SOF |
More Information: | SOF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GKE / ETNG |
Airport Name: | NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component |
Location: | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°57'38"N by 6°2'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | NATO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 296 feet (90 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GKE |
More Information: | GKE Maps & Info |
Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):
- In 2004 Strabag demanded an additional 6 million euro due to rising steel prices.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
- By the late 1970s, the terminal was handling in the region of three million passengers a year, a million of them on domestic routes.
- The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
- The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Contract for detailed design and construction of a new control tower of the airport and forming an ATM Glavbolgarstroy.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
- The new tower is an extremely important facility for both ATC and the airport because it is related to the safety and security of flights, explained by the transport department.
- A lot of consideration has been given to the design of the layout, the functional definition of the working positions, the operations room surface area for ANS provision and meteorological observation, as well as to the requirements for visibility to the runway and the approaches and access to an open observation platform.
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
- 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.
- 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.
- E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E3A aircraft.
- Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
- 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 is NATO's first operational flying unit with multinational manning.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located in the Federal Republic of Germany, near the village of Teveren and six kilometers west of the town of Geilenkirchen.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.