Nonstop flight route between Cold Bay, Alaska, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cold Bay Airport (CDB), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,577 miles (or 8,975 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 Cold Bay 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 Cold Bay 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 Cold Bay Airport (CDB):

• The furthest airport from Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,968 miles (17,652 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• There is a National Weather Service office colocated with the FAA Flight Service Station at the airport.
• The airport was constructed during World War II as Fort Randall Army Airfield during the secret military buildup of the Territory of Alaska that began in 1941.
• Because of Cold Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cold Bay 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.
• Cold Bay Airport (CDB) has 2 runways.
• In the spring and summer of 1945, Cold Bay was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II, Project Hula, in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the Soviet Union and trained 12,000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan.
• In addition to being known as "Cold Bay Airport", other names for CDB include "Cold Bay Air Force Station" and "Fort Randall Army Airfield".
• Fort Randall AAF was also used by the United States Navy during the Aleutian campaign.
• The 5042d ABS was discontinued on 1 January 1950 per AAC General Order Number 198, dated 13 December 1949, due to budget restrictions.
• On October 30, 2013 a Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 on the flight from Tokyo to San Francisco landed on the airport due to an engine shut-down.
• The closest airport to Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is King Cove Airport (KVC), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) ESE of CDB.

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

• 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.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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.