Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Bunia Airport (BUX), Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,289 miles (or 5,294 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 Bunia 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 Bunia 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about Bunia Airport (BUX):

• The furthest airport from Bunia Airport (BUX) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,859 miles (19,085 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Bunia Airport (BUX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bunia Airport (BUX) is Beni Airport (BNC), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) SW of BUX.
• Because of Bunia Airport's high elevation of 4,045 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.