Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Islamabad / Rawalpindi, Pakistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Islamabad / Rawalpindi, Pakistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,642 miles (or 5,861 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 Benazir Bhutto 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 Benazir Bhutto 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):

• 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.
• Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB):

• In addition to being known as "Benazir Bhutto International Airport", other names for ISB include "Islamabad International Airport" and "بینظیر بھٹو بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا".
• The closest airport to Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB) is Abbottabad Airport (AAW), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) N of ISB.
• The airport has a wide variety of duty-free shops, restaurants, wifi Internet services and souvenir arts and crafts shops.
• In the fiscal year 2008–2009, over 3,136,664 passengers used Benazir Bhutto International Airport and 34,025 aircraft movements were registered.
• Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Benazir Bhutto International Airport is the third-largest airport in Pakistan, serving the capital Islamabad and its twin city Rawalpindi in the province of Punjab.
• The airport is actually located outside of Islamabad, in the area of Chaklala, Rawalpindi.
• The furthest airport from Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,966 miles (19,258 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.