Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Invercargill, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GKE to IVC:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- IVC Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about IVC
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to IVC
- List of Nearest Airports to IVC
- Map of Furthest Airports from IVC
- List of Furthest Airports from IVC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Invercargill Airport (IVC), Invercargill, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,572 miles (or 18,623 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Invercargill Airport, 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Invercargill Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | IVC / NZNV |
Airport Name: | Invercargill Airport |
Location: | Invercargill, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°24'43"S by 168°18'46"E |
Operator/Owner: | Invercargill Airport Ltd |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from IVC |
More Information: | IVC Maps & Info |
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.
- E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E3A aircraft.
- 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.
- 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.
- Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
- Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
Facts about Invercargill Airport (IVC):
- The passenger terminal facilities have developed around a striking permanent 'Festival of Britain' two-level structure built in 1963, which features a distinctive lozenge-shaped roof and fully glazed airside walls giving great views of the runway from the upper deck.
- Invercargill Airport has had aspirations from the 1980s through to the 2000s as an international destination with proposals that have failed to get off the ground with nearby Queenstown being developed as a more direct route for jet aircraft.
- The closest airport to Invercargill Airport (IVC) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) SSW of IVC.
- Because of Invercargill Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Invercargill 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.
- Invercargill Airport handled 27,092 passengers last year.
- Invercargill Airport (IVC) has 4 runways.
- Air New Zealand is the major carrier operating from the airport.
- Although only ever a backup airport during World War II, military operations have remained rare due to Christchurch being chosen as the main Operation Deep Freeze Base in 1949 and what was then Dunedin's Taieri Aerodrome acting as a departure point for shorter range aircraft heading south.
- The furthest airport from Invercargill Airport (IVC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Invercargill Airport (meaning Invercargill Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,168 miles (19,582 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- Today the airport is visited by aircraft of the United States ANG, Australian RAAF, Italy's Aeronautica Militare and RNZAF as part of Antarctic flight diversion training.