Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Coventry, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Coventry Airport (CVT), Coventry, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 679 miles (or 1,093 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 relatively short distance between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Coventry Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Coventry Airport (CVT):

• The furthest airport from Coventry Airport (CVT) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,855 miles (19,078 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• From 5 November 1994 to 4 May 1995 live veal calves were exported from Coventry Airport to Amsterdam for distribution across Europe, and the locality became a focus for animal rights demonstrators.
• Coventry Airport (CVT) currently has only 1 runway.
• As part of Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit to Britain in September 2010 it was announced that the centrepiece of the visit, the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, would take place on 19 September at the airport, following the success of the 1982 visit of Pope John Paul II.
• First opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome, Coventry Airport has been used for general aviation, flight training, and commercial freight and passenger flights, as well as being a World War II fighter airfield.
• Because of Coventry Airport's relatively low elevation of 267 feet, planes can take off or land at Coventry 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 closest airport to Coventry Airport (CVT) is Birmingham Airport (BHX), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) WNW of CVT.
• Coventry Airport handled 167 passengers last year.