Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,841 miles (or 7,791 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU):

• The furthest airport from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Kolkata airport is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB.
• The closest airport to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Jessore Airport (JSR), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NE of CCU.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 1990s saw new growth for Calcutta airport, as the Indian aviation industry saw the arrival of new airlines such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara.
• In addition to being known as "Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport", another name for CCU is "নেতাজি সুভাষচন্দ্র বসু আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর".
• The airport's new integrated terminal is spread over 233,000 m2 and is able to handle 25 million passengers annually, compared to the previous terminals' capacity of five million.
• Due to the introduction of longer haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Calcutta during the 1960s, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport.