Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Leeds / Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA), Leeds / Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 775 miles (or 1,247 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 relatively short distance between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Leeds Bradford International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (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".
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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.
• 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 Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA):

• In 1978, it was decided that, with runway extensions, the airport could be upgraded to regional airport status.
• The original runway was closed on 6 October 2005, to be redeveloped as a taxiway and to provide additional apron space.
• Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Leeds Bradford International Airport handled 3,318,358 passengers last year.
• Initially the airport had restricted operating hours, and this deterred many charter airlines, whose cheap fares depended on 'round-the-clock' use of their aircraft.
• Because of Leeds Bradford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 681 feet, planes can take off or land at Leeds Bradford 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.
• On 11 August 2009 Ryanair announced it would set up a new base at Leeds Bradford, initially basing two aircraft at the airport offering 17 routes from March 2010.
• In 2004 the airport published a master plan in line with government recommendations.
• The closest airport to Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) is Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) SSE of LBA.
• On 16 June 2011, Ryanair announced that they would start two new routes to Eastern Europe, meeting the pledge they made two years previously.
• The furthest airport from Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In 2012, Monarch announced it would open an operation base at the airport in 2013.