Nonstop flight route between Platinum, Alaska, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PTU to QIE:
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- About this route
- PTU Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about PTU
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to PTU
- List of Nearest Airports to PTU
- Map of Furthest Airports from PTU
- List of Furthest Airports from PTU
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Platinum Airport (PTU), Platinum, Alaska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,312 miles (or 8,549 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 Platinum 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 Platinum 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PTU / PAPM |
Airport Name: | Platinum Airport |
Location: | Platinum, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 59°0'41"N by 161°49'9"W |
Area Served: | Platinum, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 18 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PTU |
More Information: | PTU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Platinum Airport (PTU):
- Because of Platinum Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Platinum 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 Platinum Airport (PTU) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,706 miles (17,230 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Platinum Airport (PTU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Platinum Airport (PTU) is Goodnews Airport (GNU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NE of PTU.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (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 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.
- 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.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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".
- The main USAAF use of Istres was by the 64th Troop Carrier Group, which operated C-47 Skytrain transports from the airfield from September to November 1944.
- 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.