Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Yan'an, Shaanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Yan'an Airport (ENY), Yan'an, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,160 miles (or 8,304 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 Yan'an 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 Yan'an 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):

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

Facts about Yan'an Airport (ENY):

• The furthest airport from Yan'an Airport (ENY) is Chos Malal Airport (HOS), which is nearly antipodal to Yan'an Airport (meaning Yan'an Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chos Malal Airport), and is located 12,380 miles (19,923 kilometers) away in Chos Malal, Neuquén, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Yan'an Airport (ENY) is Lüliang Airport (LLV), which is located 113 miles (183 kilometers) NE of ENY.
• In addition to being known as "Yan'an Airport", other names for ENY include "延安二十里堡机场" and "Yán'ān Èrshílǐpù Jīchǎng".