Nonstop flight route between Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kushiro Airport (KUH), Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,947 miles (or 9,570 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 Kushiro 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 Kushiro 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 Kushiro Airport (KUH):

• The closest airport to Kushiro Airport (KUH) is Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) NE of KUH.
• Kushiro Airport is an airport located 9 NM west northwest of Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan.
• There is no rail link
• The furthest airport from Kushiro Airport (KUH) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,268 miles (18,133 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kushiro Airport", other names for KUH include "釧路空港" and "Kushiro Kūkō".
• Kushiro Airport has a passenger terminal on three levels, all scheduled flights use the same terminal.
• Because of Kushiro Airport's relatively low elevation of 311 feet, planes can take off or land at Kushiro 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.
• Kushiro Airport (KUH) currently has only 1 runway.
• A bus service runs between the Airport and town of Kushiro, taking about 25 minutes and calling at the railway station, "MOO" shopping complex and a few other locations.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.