Nonstop flight route between Mombasa, Kenya and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moi International Airport (MBA), Mombasa, Kenya and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,930 miles (or 6,324 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 Moi 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 Moi 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 Moi International Airport (MBA):

• The airport was built during the Second World War by the Engineer Corps of the South African Army.
• Moi International Airport, also called Mombasa Airport, is in Mombasa, Mombasa County, in a township called Port Reitz, in southeastern Kenya, along the Indian Ocean coast.
• Moi International Airport serves the city of Mombasa and surrounding communities.
• The closest airport to Moi International Airport (MBA) is Bamburi Airport (BMQ), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) ENE of MBA.
• Because of Moi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 200 feet, planes can take off or land at Moi 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.
• Moi International Airport (MBA) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Moi International Airport (MBA) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,478 miles (18,472 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

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

• 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".
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.