Nonstop flight route between Billings, Montana, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Billings Logan International Airport (BIL), Billings, Montana, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,044 miles (or 8,117 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 Billings Logan 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 Billings Logan 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 Billings Logan International Airport (BIL):

• The furthest airport from Billings Logan International Airport (BIL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,025 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Billings Logan International Airport (BIL) is Roundup Airport (RPX), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) N of BIL.
• Billings Logan International Airport handled 899,302 passengers last year.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 422,494 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 397,073 in 2009 and 388,329 in 2010.
• In 1927 The City of Billings approved $5,000 and 400 acres on top of the Rims to build a runway.
• Billings Logan International Airport has three runways.
• Billings Logan International Airport (BIL) has 3 runways.

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

• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.