Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Lydd, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Lydd International Airport (LYX), Lydd, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 547 miles (or 880 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 Lydd 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):

• 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Lydd International Airport (LYX):

• The closest airport to Lydd International Airport (LYX) is Lympne Airport (LYM), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNE of LYX.
• Lydd Airport is located 1.2 NM northeast of the town of Lydd and 12 NM south of Ashford in the District of Shepway within Kent, England.
• Because of Lydd International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Lydd 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.
• In July 2011 CityJet conducted flight tests with the Avro RJ and Fokker 50 to see if the runway needs to be extended for them to begin operating flights.
• The furthest airport from Lydd International Airport (LYX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,928 miles (19,197 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Lydd International Airport handled 2,696 passengers last year.
• Lydd International Airport (LYX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lydd Airport, opened in 1956, was the first airport to be built in the UK following the end of the Second World War.
• As of August 2011 Bin Air are operating nightly chartered freight services to Stuttgart using a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner.