Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,238 miles (or 6,820 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza 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 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"
• 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".
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR):

• Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport handled 5,952,629 passengers last year.
• Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• On May 13, 1952 the original name, Cocorote Airport, was changed to its present name.
• The furthest airport from Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) is Batom Airport (BXM), which is located 11,999 miles (19,310 kilometers) away in Batom, Indonesia.
• In addition to being known as "Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport", another name for FOR is "Aeroporto Internacional Pinto Martins – Fortaleza".
• In February 1998 a brand-new passenger terminal was opened.
• The airport has its origins on a runway built in the 1930s and which was used by the Ceará Flying School until 2000.
• Because of Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Pinto Martins – Fortaleza 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.
• The closest airport to Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) is Gov. Dix-Sept Rosado Airport (MVF), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) SE of FOR.