Nonstop flight route between Utirik Island, Marshall Islands and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Utirik Airport (UTK), Utirik Island, Marshall Islands and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,031 miles (or 12,925 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 Utirik 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 Utirik 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 Utirik Airport (UTK):

• Because of Utirik Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Utirik 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.
• Utirik Airport (UTK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Utirik Airport (UTK) is Ailuk Airport (AIM), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) S of UTK.
• In addition to being known as "Utirik Airport", another name for UTK is "03N".
• The furthest airport from Utirik Airport (UTK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Utirik Airport (meaning Utirik Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,070 miles (19,425 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.

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

• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.