Nonstop flight route between Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eastern WV Regional Airport (MRB), Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,118 miles (or 6,626 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 Eastern WV 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 Eastern WV 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 Eastern WV Regional Airport (MRB):

• In addition to being known as "Eastern WV Regional Airport", another name for MRB is "Shepherd Field".
• The airport covers an area of 1,015 acres at an elevation of 565 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Eastern WV Regional Airport (MRB) is Winchester Regional Airport (WGO), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) SSW of MRB.
• Eastern WV Regional Airport (MRB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Eastern WV Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 565 feet, planes can take off or land at Eastern WV Regional 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 Eastern WV Regional Airport (MRB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,620 miles (18,701 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

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

• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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".