Nonstop flight route between Mammoth Lakes, California, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH), Mammoth Lakes, California, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,817 miles (or 9,362 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 Mammoth Yosemite 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 Mammoth Yosemite 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 Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH):

• Because of Mammoth Yosemite Airport's high elevation of 7,135 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MMH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MMH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport had 665 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 6,157 enplanements in 2009, and 19,814 in 2010.
• Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) is Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) ESE of MMH.
• The furthest airport from Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,259 miles (18,120 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

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

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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".
• 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.