Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Brisbane Airport (BNE), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,346 miles (or 16,651 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 Brisbane 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 Brisbane 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.

Facts about Brisbane Airport (BNE):

• The closest airport to Brisbane Airport (BNE) is Caloundra Airport (CUD), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) N of BNE.
• Brisbane Airport (BNE) has 2 runways.
• Because of Brisbane Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Brisbane 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 1997, as part of the privatisation of numerous Australian airports, the airport was acquired for $1.4 billion from the Federal Airports Corporation by Brisbane Airport Corporation under a 50-year lease.
• The furthest airport from Brisbane Airport (BNE) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,874 miles (19,109 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• The following airlines operate scheduled cargo flights from Brisbane.
• The domestic terminals for TAA and Ansett were reached from Lamington Avenue, near the Doomben Racecourse.
• Brisbane Airport handled 2,139,106 passengers last year.
• On 27 February 2014, Qantas announced it had disposed of its long-term lease at the domestic terminal which was due to expire on 30 December 2018.
• The domestic terminal has three distinct areas serving Qantas and Qantaslink at the northern end of the building and Virgin Australia at the southern end of the building with other carriers such as Jetstar, Tiger Airways and Skytrans are located in the central area of the terminal.