Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,390 miles (or 11,892 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 Carriel Sur 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 Carriel Sur 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP):

• Because of Carriel Sur International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Carriel Sur 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.
• In addition to being known as "Carriel Sur International Airport", another name for CCP is "Aeropuerto Internacional Carriel Sur (Concepción)".
• The closest airport to Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP) is General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI), which is located 59 miles (94 kilometers) ENE of CCP.
• Despite being the second most important airport in Chile, Carriel Sur does not count with radar service for approach/departure control.
• The furthest airport from Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP) is Qingyang Airport (IQN), which is nearly antipodal to Carriel Sur International Airport (meaning Carriel Sur International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Qingyang Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,891 kilometers) away in Qingyang, Gansu, China.