Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Mersa Matruh, Egypt:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Mersa Matruh Airport (MUH), Mersa Matruh, Egypt would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,477 miles (or 2,377 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 Mersa Matruh 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):

• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Mersa Matruh Airport (MUH):

• Because of Mersa Matruh Airport's relatively low elevation of 94 feet, planes can take off or land at Mersa Matruh 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 Mersa Matruh Airport (MUH) is Borg El Arab International Airport (HBE), which is located 149 miles (240 kilometers) E of MUH.
• Mersa Matruh Airport (MUH) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Mersa Matruh Airport", another name for MUH is "مطار مرسى مطروح".
• The furthest airport from Mersa Matruh Airport (MUH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,816 miles (19,016 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.