Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Ambon, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ), Ambon, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,023 miles (or 12,912 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 Pattimura Airport (PTA), 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 Pattimura Airport (PTA). 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):

• 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.
• Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.

Facts about Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ):

• Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Currently there are no regularly scheduled international flights to or from Ambon, so the international terminal is used for domestic flights with that come in with larger airplanes and can make use of the 2 jet bridges for easier loading and unloading of the airplanes – especially when it is raining.
• The furthest airport from Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is nearly antipodal to Pattimura Airport (PTA) (meaning Pattimura Airport (PTA) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport), and is located 12,354 miles (19,882 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• There also used to be a Rp 3,000 Maluku regional fee that was charged at a small desk next to the booth where the airport tax is collected, but that no longer is being asked of passengers.
• Because of Pattimura Airport (PTA)'s relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Pattimura Airport (PTA) 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 "Pattimura Airport (PTA)", another name for AMQ is "Bandar Udara Pattimura (PTA)".
• As an alternative, you can also walk to the road and take an angkot to the Poka Ferry for Rp 3,500, and take the ferry to Galala for Rp 1,400, and then take an angkot from Galala into town for about Rp 3,000 depending on where in town you are going.
• Pattimura Airport (PTA) handled 818 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Pattimura Airport (PTA) (AMQ) is Amahai Airport (AHI), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) ENE of AMQ.
• Since 1998, there has been no international routes operating out of the Pattimura International Airport.