Nonstop flight route between Austin, Texas, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Austin, Texas, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,383 miles (or 8,663 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 Austin–Bergstrom International 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 Austin–Bergstrom International 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 Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS):

• Because of Austin–Bergstrom International Airport's relatively low elevation of 542 feet, planes can take off or land at Austin–Bergstrom International 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.
• Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) has 2 runways.
• Runway 17L/35R is a new 9,000 foot runway on the east side of the terminal and parallel with runway 17R/35L.
• The closest airport to Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is Austin Executive Airport (EDC), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NNE of AUS.
• Bergstrom had the designator BSM until Mueller's final closure in 1999, when it took Mueller's IATA code of AUS.
• On the early stages of exploring options for a new airport, the city submitted a proposal to the United States Air Force for joint use of Bergstrom AFB in 1976.
• As the need for commercial service became clear in the 1920s, Austin voters supported a bond election to build a municipal airport in the city in 1928.
• Austin–Bergstrom International Airport handled 10,017,958 passengers last year.
• Mueller's longest runway was 7,000 feet and by the late 1990s, the passenger terminal was operating at full capacity with 16 gates.
• In the 1950s, developers began building residential areas beneath the flight paths of Mueller and, in parallel, the number of arrivals and departures at the airport increased dramatically because of the growth of the city.
• The furthest airport from Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,050 miles (17,783 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

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

• 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.
• 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.