Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Bafoussam, Cameroon:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Bafoussam Airport (BFX), Bafoussam, Cameroon would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,645 miles (or 4,257 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 Bafoussam 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 Bafoussam 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".

Facts about Bafoussam Airport (BFX):

• Because of Bafoussam Airport's high elevation of 4,347 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BFX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BFX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Bafoussam Airport (BFX) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is nearly antipodal to Bafoussam Airport (meaning Bafoussam Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Canton Island Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Bafoussam Airport (BFX) is Dschang Airport (DSC), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) WSW of BFX.
• Bafoussam Airport (BFX) currently has only 1 runway.