Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and David, Chiriquí Province, Panama:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV), David, Chiriquí Province, Panama would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,689 miles (or 9,156 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 Enrique Malek 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 Enrique Malek 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 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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".
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.

Facts about Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV):

• The furthest airport from Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Enrique Malek International Airport (meaning Enrique Malek International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,170 miles (19,585 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Enrique Malek International Airport", another name for DAV is "Aeropuerto Internacional Enrique Malek".
• Because of Enrique Malek International Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Enrique Malek 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.
• Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) currently has only 1 runway.
• In October 2009, a campaign for Direct flights between DAV and the USA was relaunched and statistics are being kept of passengers interested in travel along this future route.DAV Direct Blog
• On 13 July 1943, there was an accident at this airfield that claimed the life of 12 airmen when their B-17 Flying Fortress stalled during approach and crashed in the runway.
• The closest airport to Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) is Coto 47 Airport (OTR), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) WNW of DAV.
• An estimated US$12,000,000.00 improvement fund has been passed by the Panamanian legislature that will include runway expansion.