Nonstop flight route between Enshi, Hubei, China and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Enshi Xujiaping Airport (ENH), Enshi, Hubei, China and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,460 miles (or 8,786 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 Enshi Xujiaping 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 Enshi Xujiaping 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 Enshi Xujiaping Airport (ENH):

• In addition to being known as "Enshi Xujiaping Airport", other names for ENH include "恩施许家坪机场" and "Enshī Xǔjiāpíng Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Enshi Xujiaping Airport (ENH) is Qianjiang Wulingshan Airport (JIQ), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) SW of ENH.
• The furthest airport from Enshi Xujiaping Airport (ENH) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Enshi Xujiaping Airport (meaning Enshi Xujiaping Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,935 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.

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.
• 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.
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.