Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Adelaide, South Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Adelaide Airport (ADL), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,918 miles (or 15,961 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Adelaide Airport, 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Adelaide Airport. 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Adelaide Airport (ADL):

• The new airport terminal is approximately 850 m end to end and is capable of handling 27 aircraft, including the Airbus A380, simultaneously and processing 3,000 passengers per hour.
• The first Adelaide airport was an aerodrome constructed in 1921 on 24 ha of land in Hendon.
• Proposals were developed for an attempt for an upgraded terminal of world standard.
• Adelaide Airport handled 7,337,000 passengers last year.
• Adelaide Airport (ADL) has 2 runways.
• The first Qantas A380, VH-OQA "Nancy Bird Walton", made a historic landing at the airport on 27 September 2008, enthralling several thousand spectators who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the giant aircraft.
• The closest airport to Adelaide Airport (ADL) is Kingscote Airport (KGC), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) SW of ADL.
• The furthest airport from Adelaide Airport (ADL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Adelaide Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Adelaide 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.