Nonstop flight route between Bangor, Maine, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bangor International Airport (BGR), Bangor, Maine, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,525 miles (or 5,673 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 Bangor 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 Bangor 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 Bangor International Airport (BGR):

• The airport owes its prosperity to its location on major air corridors between Europe and the East Coast of the United States.
• Most regular flights in and out of Bangor are connections to relatively close destinations.
• Bangor International Airport (BGR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bangor International Airport's relatively low elevation of 192 feet, planes can take off or land at Bangor 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.
• From the 1970s into the 1990s, the airport attracted 3,000 to 5,000 commercial flights a year, mostly charter jetliners flying between Europe and the West Coast of the United States, or the Caribbean and Mexico.
• In November 2007, Allegiant Air began offering a few flights to and from Orlando-Sanford International Airport and Saint Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, a secondary airport near Tampa.
• In October 1969, a Trans World Airlines plane that had been hijacked in California refueled in Bangor on its way to Rome, where the hijacker was captured.
• The furthest airport from Bangor International Airport (BGR) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,670 miles (18,782 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1968, Dow AFB was closed as an active duty Air Force installation.
• The closest airport to Bangor International Airport (BGR) is Old Town Municipal Airport (OLD), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) NE of BGR.

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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.