Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Skardu, Pakistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Skardu Airport (KDU), Skardu, Pakistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,696 miles (or 5,949 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 Skardu 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 Skardu 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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"
• 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 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.

Facts about Skardu Airport (KDU):

• The closest airport to Skardu Airport (KDU) is Gilgit Airport (GIL), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) WNW of KDU.
• In addition to being known as "Skardu Airport", another name for KDU is "سکردو ہوائی اڈے".
• The furthest airport from Skardu Airport (KDU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,801 miles (18,992 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Skardu Airport (KDU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Skardu Airport's high elevation of 7,316 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KDU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KDU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.