Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Paro, Bhutan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from QIE to PBH:
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- About this route
- QIE Airport Information
- PBH Airport Information
- Facts about QIE
- Facts about PBH
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to PBH
- List of Nearest Airports to PBH
- Map of Furthest Airports from PBH
- List of Furthest Airports from PBH
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Paro International Airport (PBH), Paro, Bhutan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,680 miles (or 7,531 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Paro International 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Paro International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PBH / VQPR |
Airport Name: | Paro International Airport |
Location: | Paro, Bhutan |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°24'32"N by 89°25'14"E |
Area Served: | Thimphu and Paro District |
Operator/Owner: | Department of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7300 feet (2,225 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PBH |
More Information: | PBH Maps & Info |
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
- On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
- In addition to being known as "Istres-Le Tubé Air Base", another name for QIE is "Base aérienne 125 Istres (BA 125)Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-17".
- The closest airport to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of QIE.
- The furthest airport from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (meaning Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Istres-Le Tubé Air Base's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base 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.
Facts about Paro International Airport (PBH):
- The second international airport project, which was planned for construction at the Gelephu site, was downgraded to a domestic airport project in October 2008.
- Druk Air is the national flag carrier airline of Bhutan and has its base at Paro Airport.
- Paro International Airport (PBH) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Paro International Airport's high elevation of 7,300 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PBH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PBH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- With surrounding peaks as high as 18,000 ft it is considered one of the world's most challenging airports, and as of October 2009, only eight pilots in the world are certified to land at the airport.
- The furthest airport from Paro International Airport (PBH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,281 miles (18,155 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- The closest airport to Paro International Airport (PBH) is Cooch Behar Airport (COH), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) SSE of PBH.