Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Gwangju (Kwangju), South Korea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Gwangju Airport (KWJ), Gwangju (Kwangju), South Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,889 miles (or 9,477 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 Gwangju 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 Gwangju 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):

• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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.
• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
• 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.
• 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 Gwangju Airport (KWJ):

• Gwangju Airport (KWJ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gwangju Airport (KWJ) is Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport (PDP), which is nearly antipodal to Gwangju Airport (meaning Gwangju Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport), and is located 12,327 miles (19,839 kilometers) away in Maldonado/Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay.
• Because of Gwangju Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Gwangju 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 "Gwangju Airport", other names for KWJ include "광주공항 光州空港", "Gwangju Gonghang" and "Kwangju Konghang".
• The closest airport to Gwangju Airport (KWJ) is Mokpo Airport (MPK), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) SW of KWJ.
• Gwangju Airport is an airport in the city of Gwangju, South Korea and is managed by the Korea Airports Corporation.
• Gwangju Airport handled 1,539,187 passengers last year.