Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Oakland (near San Francisco), California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Oakland International Airport (OAK), Oakland (near San Francisco), California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,922 miles (or 9,530 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 Oakland 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 Oakland 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):

• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Oakland International Airport (OAK):

• Oakland International Airport (OAK) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Oakland International Airport (OAK) is Hayward Executive Airport (HWD), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SE of OAK.
• The city of Oakland looked into the construction of an airport starting in 1925.
• Oakland International Airport, a revenue division of the Port of Oakland, takes a leadership role in promoting a sustainable operating environment—whether that's looking at current day-to-day operations or forecasting future needs and requirements.
• In August 2010, Mexicana Airlines suspended all its flights out of the airport and its other destinations indefinitely until further notice due to financial problems.
• United Airlines vacated its 300,000 sq ft Oakland Maintenance Center in May 2003 and transferred work to its base at San Francisco International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Oakland International Airport (OAK) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,354 miles (18,273 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Oakland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Oakland 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.