Nonstop flight route between Garden City, Kansas, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Garden City Regional Airport (GCK), Garden City, Kansas, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,141 miles (or 8,273 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 Garden City Regional 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 Garden City Regional 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 Garden City Regional Airport (GCK):

• Garden City Regional Airport's status as former Garden City AAF helped it serve an important role during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
• The furthest airport from Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,860 miles (17,477 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) is Dodge City Regional Airport (DDC), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ESE of GCK.
• Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) has 2 runways.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.

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

• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground 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.
• 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 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.