Nonstop flight route between Alliance, Nebraska, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alliance Municipal Airport (AIA), Alliance, Nebraska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,024 miles (or 8,085 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 Alliance Municipal Airport 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 Alliance Municipal Airport 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 Alliance Municipal Airport (AIA):

• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 1,786 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,395 in 2009 and 1,416 in 2010.
• By December 1945 the facility was declared surplus property.
• The closest airport to Alliance Municipal Airport (AIA) is Western Nebraska Regional Airport (BFF), which is located 43 miles (68 kilometers) WSW of AIA.
• In addition to being known as "Alliance Municipal Airport", another name for AIA is "(former Alliance Army Airfield)".
• On August 22, 1943, a huge crowd of 65,000 people gathered for the dedication of Alliance Army Airfield, a training facility for Army paratroops and air crews.
• Alliance Municipal Airport (AIA) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Alliance Municipal Airport (AIA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,697 miles (17,215 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (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".
• The main USAAF use of Istres was by the 64th Troop Carrier Group, which operated C-47 Skytrain transports from the airfield from September to November 1944.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.