Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Eagle, Colorado (near Vail), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), Eagle, Colorado (near Vail), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,294 miles (or 8,519 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 Eagle County Regional 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 Eagle County Regional 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):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17

Facts about Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE):

• Because of Eagle County Regional Airport's high elevation of 6,547 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at EGE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make EGE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Most major car rental companies are also present.
• While there is no standard published ILS approach at the airport, there is a special ILS approach, mostly used by the airlines, which requires permission and training from the FSDO.
• The closest airport to Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) is Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) S of EGE.
• Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Eagle County Regional Airport handled 218,105 passengers last year.
• During the ski season, airlines mostly operate the Boeing 757 which are able to make non-stop flights to most U.S.
• The furthest airport from Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,946 miles (17,617 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.