Nonstop flight route between Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,252 miles (or 8,453 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS):

• Because of City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport's high elevation of 6,187 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at COS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make COS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is United States Air Force Academy (AFF), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of COS.
• City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) has 3 runways.
• Since September 2011 the airport terminal has been under renovation, that includes reconstruction of the TSA checkpoint to support full body scanners, expansion of office space behind the ticket counters, and new facilities for automated baggage screening.
• The furthest airport from City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,940 miles (17,606 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

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

• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.