Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Mianwali, Pakistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD), Mianwali, Pakistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,606 miles (or 5,803 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 PAF Base M.M. Alam, 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 PAF Base M.M. Alam. 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):

• 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".
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.

Facts about PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD):

• The closest airport to PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD) is Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) SW of MWD.
• PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to PAF Base M.M. Alam (meaning PAF Base M.M. Alam is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,059 miles (19,407 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The airbase was renamed as "PAF Base M.M.
• In November 1976, No.14 Squadron was transferred to Mianwali airbase for operational conversion of graduates of the No.1 Fighter Conversion Unit from dual-seat to the Shenyang F-6 single-seat fighter aircraft.
• Because of PAF Base M.M. Alam's relatively low elevation of 690 feet, planes can take off or land at PAF Base M.M. Alam 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 airbase was again upgraded to a permanent operational airbase in August 1974, although construction of facilities was not completed for another three years.