Nonstop flight route between Key West, Florida, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Key West International Airport (EYW), Key West, Florida, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,912 miles (or 7,904 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 Key West International 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 Key West International 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 Key West International Airport (EYW):

• Traffic had decreased since the banner year of 2005 with 618,174 passengers, with 563,947 in 2006, 538,066 in 2007 and 453,006 in 2008.
• Key West International Airport (EYW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Key West International Airport is a county owned public use airport located 2 nautical miles east of Key West, in Monroe County, Florida, United States.
• The furthest airport from Key West International Airport (EYW) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,577 miles (18,632 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Key West International Airport's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Key West International 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 closest airport to Key West International Airport (EYW) is NAS Key West (NQX), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) ENE of EYW.
• Key West International Airport covers an area of 334 acres at an elevation of 3 feet above mean sea level.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.