Nonstop flight route between Pasco, Washington, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), Pasco, Washington, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,353 miles (or 8,615 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 Tri-Cities 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 Tri-Cities 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 Tri-Cities Airport (PSC):

• Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) has 3 runways.
• Pasco has had jet flights on several airlines, including Air West and Hughes Airwest with Douglas DC-9s, Cascade Airways with BAC One-Elevens, Delta Airlines with Boeing 727-200s and 737-300s, Alaska Airlines with Boeing 727s,Horizon Air with Fokker F-28s and West Coast Airlines with DC-9s.
• Because of Tri-Cities Airport's relatively low elevation of 407 feet, planes can take off or land at Tri-Cities 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.
• Tri-Cities Airport is a public airport 2 miles northwest of Pasco, in Franklin County, Washington, USA.
• The closest airport to Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) is Richland Airport (RLD), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of PSC.
• The furthest airport from Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• PSC also has commercial air traffic.

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

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".