Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Chiang Rai, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI), Chiang Rai, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,517 miles (or 8,878 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 Chiang Rai 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 Chiang Rai 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):

• 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.
• 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 (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.
• 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 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.
• 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 Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI):

• In addition to being known as "Chiang Rai International Airport", another name for CEI is "ท่าอากาศยานแม่ฟ้าหลวง เชียงราย".
• A new road which can be accessed by turning left upon exiting the airport also leads southbound to the city centre and is a less congested route, as it is not used by intercity buses heading north.
• The furthest airport from Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is located 11,947 miles (19,227 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.
• Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport handles over 800,000 passengers, 5,800 aircraft movements and 3,700 tons of cargo.
• Chiang Rai International Airport handled 1,053,863 passengers last year.
• Mae Fah Luang–Chiang Rai International Airport is located in the city of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.
• The closest airport to Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) is Tachilek Airport (THL), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) N of CEI.
• The airport's IATA code is CEI and economical flights are made several times daily to Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi which is a regional hub airport with daily flights to every major city in the world.
• Access to the airport is available from an access road linking the airport with Phahonyothin Road, which leads southbound to the city centre, Chiang Mai, Bus Terminal II and all the way to Bangkok and northbound to Mae Chan, Mae Sai and the Thai-Myanmar border.