Nonstop flight route between Charleston, West Virginia, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yeager Airport (CRW), Charleston, West Virginia, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,318 miles (or 6,949 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 Yeager 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 Yeager 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 Yeager Airport (CRW):

• On June 25, 2009 AirTran Airways began service from Charleston to Orlando.
• The furthest airport from Yeager Airport (CRW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,458 miles (18,440 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Yeager Airport's relatively low elevation of 981 feet, planes can take off or land at Yeager 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.
• On August 10 1968, Piedmont Airlines Flight 230 was on an ILS localizer-only approach to runway 23 when it struck trees 360 feet from the runway threshold.
• During World War II Charleston's airport, Wertz Field, closed when the airport's approaches were blocked by the federal government building a synthetic rubber plant next to the airport.
• The airport sits on a hilltop over 300 feet above the valleys of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers, and the hill drops off sharply on all sides.
• The closest airport to Yeager Airport (CRW) is Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) SSE of CRW.
• Yeager Airport (CRW) has 2 runways.
• On July 28, 2010 a United Airlines Boeing 757 from Washington Dulles to San Diego was forced to divert to Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after smoke was detected in a restroom.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17