Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFK to QIE:
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- About this route
- GFK Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about GFK
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFK
- List of Nearest Airports to GFK
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFK
- List of Furthest Airports from GFK
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,549 miles (or 7,320 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 Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFK / KGFK |
Airport Name: | Grand Forks International Airport |
Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°56'57"N by 97°10'33"W |
Operator/Owner: | Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 845 feet (258 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from GFK |
More Information: | GFK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks International Airport (GFK):
- In the mid-2000s, discussion began of upgrading or totally replacing the terminal as it has structural and safety problems and leaves little to no room for expansion.
- The closest airport to Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) W of GFK.
- On November 9, 2010 KGFK had 100,570 boardings, one more than the record achieved in 12 months in 1994.
- A unique attribute of KGFK is that it is the University of North Dakota’s Aerospace program.
- The new passenger terminal, designed by JLG Architects, is a two story building, with Delta and Allegiant ticketing counters, baggage claim carousel, and several rental car agencies.
- Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) has 4 runways.
- GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator at the airport, completed construction of a new $4.5 million facility in Fall 2008.
- Because of Grand Forks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Grand Forks 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 furthest airport from Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,514 miles (16,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Due to the increased amount of general aviation traffic, primarily from the UND Aerospace flight training school, a fourth runway has been completed on the southeast side of the airport.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
- Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
- 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".