Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Plaisance, Mauritius:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), Plaisance, Mauritius would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,538 miles (or 8,913 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 Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International 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 Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• 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".
• With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.

Facts about Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU):

• A new passenger terminal was inaugurated on 30 August 2013, and became fully operational in September 2013.
• In addition to being known as "Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport", another name for MRU is "Plaisance Airport".
• The first flight to Rodrigues island was made on 10 September 1972, an Air Mauritius flight from Plaisance airport to the Plaine Corail Airport at Rodrigues.
• Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport handled 269,086 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) is Roland Garros Airport (RUN), which is located 144 miles (231 kilometers) WSW of MRU.
• Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport's relatively low elevation of 186 feet, planes can take off or land at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam 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.
• The furthest airport from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,697 miles (18,824 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• Later in 1986, infrastructure works were undertaken to accommodate larger aircraft.