Nonstop flight route between Metlakatla, Annette Island, Alaska, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM), Metlakatla, Annette Island, Alaska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,160 miles (or 8,304 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 Metlakatla Seaplane Base 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 Metlakatla Seaplane Base 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 Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM):

• The furthest airport from Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,621 miles (17,093 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• Because of Metlakatla Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Metlakatla Seaplane 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 closest airport to Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM) is Annette Island Airport (ANN), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) S of MTM.
• Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM) has 2 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 3,344 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,403 enplanements in 2009, and 4,140 in 2010.

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

• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".