Nonstop flight route between Sheghnan, Afghanistan and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheghnan Airport (SGA), Sheghnan, Afghanistan and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,253 miles (or 5,236 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 Sheghnan 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 Sheghnan 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 Sheghnan Airport (SGA):

• Sheghnan Airport (SGA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sheghnan Airport's high elevation of 6,700 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SGA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SGA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Sheghnan Airport (SGA) is Fayzabad Airport د فیض اباد هوائی ډګر (FBD), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) WSW of SGA.
• The furthest airport from Sheghnan Airport (SGA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,716 miles (18,855 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Sheghnan Airport", another name for SGA is "Sheghnan Airport (Sheghnan)".

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

• 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 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.
• 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.
• Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
• Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.