Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Belleville, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV), Belleville, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,667 miles (or 7,511 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 MidAmerica St. Louis 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 MidAmerica St. Louis 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 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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 MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV):

• The closest airport to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) is St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) W of BLV.
• Both Boeing Aerospace and Northbay Produce currently have facilities on site.
• The furthest airport from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,016 miles (17,728 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) has 2 runways.
• Four passenger airlines have started operations at MidAmerica only to go out of business or close operations.
• Five MetroBus lines serve Scott Air Force Base via Shiloh–Scott station.
• Because of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport's relatively low elevation of 459 feet, planes can take off or land at MidAmerica St. Louis 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.
• In calendar year 2008, the dual-use facility was ranked 314 in the United States with 27,002 passenger enplanements.
• In addition to being known as "MidAmerica St. Louis Airport", another name for BLV is "Scott Air Force Base".