Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Ilulissat, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Ilulissat Airport (JAV), Ilulissat, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,628 miles (or 4,229 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 Ilulissat 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 Ilulissat 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.

Facts about Ilulissat Airport (JAV):

• Ilulissat Airport handled 41,965 passengers last year.
• Because of Ilulissat Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Ilulissat 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ilulissat Airport", other names for JAV include "Mittarfik Ilulissat" and "Ilulissat Lufthavn".
• Air Iceland de Havilland Canada Dash-8 106
• Ilulissat Airport is an airport located near the shores of Disko Bay, 1.5 NM north-east of Ilulissat, a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland.
• Air Greenland Sikorsky S-61N helicopter
• The closest airport to Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is Qasigiannguit Heliport (JCH), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) S of JAV.
• The furthest airport from Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• On 29 January 2014, a De Havilland DHC-8 operated by Air Greenland suffered substantial damage in a landing accident, causing three injuries.
• Ilulissat Airport (JAV) currently has only 1 runway.