Nonstop flight route between Fort Worth, Texas, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW), Fort Worth, Texas, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,245 miles (or 8,441 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 Fort Worth Meacham Int'l 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 Fort Worth Meacham Int'l 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 Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW):

• The closest airport to Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW) is Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SW of FTW.
• Meacham Airport was purchased by the city of Fort Worth on July 3, 1925, named Fort Worth Municipal Airport.
• In 2001 Continental Airlines announced plans for Continental Express flights between Meacham and Houston Intercontinental Airport but this was dropped after September 11, 2001, attacks.
• Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW) has 3 runways.
• Because of Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport's relatively low elevation of 710 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Worth Meacham Int'l 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 furthest airport from Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,944 miles (17,613 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

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

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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".
• 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.