Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Noumea, New Caledonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Tontouta International Airport (NOU), Noumea, New Caledonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,604 miles (or 17,066 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 Tontouta 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 Tontouta 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Tontouta International Airport (NOU):

• The closest airport to Tontouta International Airport (NOU) is Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SE of NOU.
• Tontouta International Airport (NOU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tontouta International Airport (NOU) is Fderik Airport (FGD), which is nearly antipodal to Tontouta International Airport (meaning Tontouta International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fderik Airport), and is located 12,356 miles (19,885 kilometers) away in Fderik, Mauritania.
• Because of Tontouta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Tontouta 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 addition to being known as "Tontouta International Airport", another name for NOU is "Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta".