Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Nanning, Guangxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Nanning Wuxu International Airport (NNG), Nanning, Guangxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,776 miles (or 9,295 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 Nanning Wuxu 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 Nanning Wuxu 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):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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".
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.

Facts about Nanning Wuxu International Airport (NNG):

• The closest airport to Nanning Wuxu International Airport (NNG) is Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY), which is located 103 miles (166 kilometers) SE of NNG.
• Because of Nanning Wuxu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 420 feet, planes can take off or land at Nanning Wuxu 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.
• Nanning Wuxu International Airport handled 7,032,312 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Nanning Wuxu International Airport (NNG) is Carolina Airport (CLN), which is nearly antipodal to Nanning Wuxu International Airport (meaning Nanning Wuxu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carolina Airport), and is located 12,338 miles (19,856 kilometers) away in Carolina, Maranhão, Brazil.
• Nanning Wuxu International Airport (NNG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Nanning Wuxu International Airport", other names for NNG include "Nanzningz Vuzhih Gozci Gihcangz南宁吴圩国际机场" and "Nánníng Wúxū Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The new terminal under construction is scheduled to be finished in 2012.