Nonstop flight route between Camp Springs, Maryland, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Andrews Field (ADW), Camp Springs, Maryland, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,090 miles (or 6,582 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 Andrews Field and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, 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 Andrews Field and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base. 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 Andrews Field (ADW):

• Union American Civil War used a country church near Camp Springs, Maryland for sleeping quarters and on 25 August 1941, President Roosevelt directed use of the land for an airfield.
• Andrews Field is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force.
• On 12 July 1991, the 89th Military Airlift Wing was redesignated as the 89th Airlift Wing and assumed duties as the host wing at Andrews AFB.
• The furthest airport from Andrews Field (ADW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,691 miles (18,815 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the late 1950s Andrews began an annual open house and air show on base.
• The closest airport to Andrews Field (ADW) is Bolling Air Force Base (BOF), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) WNW of ADW.
• In the years since 1959, Andrews' flight operations and importance have increased greatly.
• Joint Base Andrews was designated on 1 October 2009 and on 1 October 2010, the Air Force completed the merge of the 11th Wing and the 316th at Joint Base Andrews.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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".
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• 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.