Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,969 miles (or 11,216 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 Kota Kinabalu International 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 Kota Kinabalu International 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.
• 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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 is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.

Facts about Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI):

• The furthest airport from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lábrea Airport (LBR), which is nearly antipodal to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (meaning Kota Kinabalu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lábrea Airport), and is located 12,330 miles (19,843 kilometers) away in Lábrea, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Because of Kota Kinabalu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kota Kinabalu International 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 Departure Hall column head design is inspired by the 'Wakid' basket design.
• The first flight to depart at the new wing was MH 2637 to Kuala Lumpur at 0650 hours while the last flight at the old wing was at 0025 hours.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport handled 6,929,692 passengers last year.
• The current largest scheduled aircraft to operate in and out of the terminal is the Boeing 777-200ER from Royal Brunei and Malaysia Airlines.
• In addition to being known as "Kota Kinabalu International Airport", another name for BKI is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu".
• The closest airport to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lapangan Terbang Keningau Keningau Airport (KGU), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) S of BKI.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In mid-2005, the Malaysian government approved a project for major renovation and extension of KKIA worth RM1.4 billion.