Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Lamen Bay, Epi Island, Shéfa Province, Vanuatu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Lamen Bay Airport (LNB), Lamen Bay, Epi Island, Shéfa Province, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,331 miles (or 16,627 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 Lamen Bay 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 Lamen Bay 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):

• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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".
• 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 main USAAF use of Istres was by the 64th Troop Carrier Group, which operated C-47 Skytrain transports from the airfield from September to November 1944.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Lamen Bay Airport (LNB):

• Because of Lamen Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Lamen Bay 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.
• The closest airport to Lamen Bay Airport (LNB) is Malekoula Airport (LPM), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) WNW of LNB.
• The furthest airport from Lamen Bay Airport (LNB) is Kiffa Airport (KFA), which is nearly antipodal to Lamen Bay Airport (meaning Lamen Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kiffa Airport), and is located 12,408 miles (19,969 kilometers) away in Kiffa, Mauritania.