Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Don Muang, Bangkok, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), Don Muang, Bangkok, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,837 miles (or 9,394 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 Don Mueang 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 Don Mueang 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Don Mueang International Airport (DMK):

• In addition to being known as "Don Mueang International Airport", another name for DMK is "ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง".
• Before the opening of Suvarnabhumi, the airport used the IATA airport code BKK and the name was spelled Don Muang.
• The furthest airport from Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), which is nearly antipodal to Don Mueang International Airport (meaning Don Mueang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Jorge Chávez International Airport), and is located 12,235 miles (19,691 kilometers) away in Callao (near Lima), Peru.
• Because of the 2011 Thailand floods that affected Bangkok and the rest of Thailand, the airport was closed as flood waters flowed on to the runways and affected the lighting.
• The closest airport to Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) is Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) SSE of DMK.
• Because of Don Mueang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Don Mueang 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.
• Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) has 2 runways.
• An RTAF golf course is located between the two runways.