# Geilenkirchen Air Base (GKE)

> Geilenkirchen, DE · IATA: GKE · ICAO: ETNG · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `GKE` |
| ICAO | `ETNG` |
| City | Geilenkirchen |
| Country | DE |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 90 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | 50.96080, 6.04242 |

## Description

Home to NATO's airborne early-warning fleet, Geilenkirchen Air Base (IATA: GKE, ICAO: ETNG) in North Rhine-Westphalia is the only permanent NATO main operating base on German soil, flying 14 Boeing E-3A AWACS radar aircraft. In November 2025 several NATO nations scrapped the planned purchase of six Boeing E-7A Wedgetail successors; the Saab GlobalEye is now under consideration, while the ageing E-3A fleet is set to serve until around 2035. The base is closed to civil and cargo aviation. Air freight in the Germany/Belgium/Netherlands border region routes through Düsseldorf (DUS) or Cologne/Bonn (CGN).

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/geilenkirchen-air-base-airport-gke](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/geilenkirchen-air-base-airport-gke)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/geilenkirchen-air-base-airport-gke](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/geilenkirchen-air-base-airport-gke)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/geilenkirchen-air-base-airport-gke/llm-summary*