Nonstop flight route between Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,538 miles (or 7,303 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 University of Illinois Willard 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 University of Illinois Willard 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 University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI):

• The closest airport to University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) is Decatur Airport (DEC), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) WSW of CMI.
• University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) has 4 runways.
• Delta Air Lines dropped Willard Airport on August 31, 2010.Vision Airlines also ceased service to Willard Airport on January 6, 2012 after 3 weeks of service.
• Because of University of Illinois Willard Airport's relatively low elevation of 754 feet, planes can take off or land at University of Illinois Willard 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.
• The airport is served by buses from the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, which connect with intercity buses and with Amtrak.
• On January 28, 1998 President Bill Clinton was in Champaign-Urbana for a speaking engagement at Assembly Hall and arrived at Willard Airport on Air Force One.
• The furthest airport from University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,084 miles (17,838 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.