Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Newport News, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF), Newport News, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,137 miles (or 6,658 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 Newport News/Williamsburg 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 Newport News/Williamsburg 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):

• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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 Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF):

• When the original control tower was shut down in July 2007 with the opening of the state of the art 147 ft tall new tower, it had been the oldest operating control tower on the east coast with continuous service for 55 years.
• Concourse A opened in May 2010 as the airport's second concourse.
• Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport", another name for PHF is "Patrick Henry Field".
• The furthest airport from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,749 miles (18,908 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In February 2012, PEOPLExpress Airlines announced plans to fly out of the airport to several destinations.
• In 1951, the original passenger terminal was damaged by a fire.
• Because of Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Newport News/Williamsburg 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.
• When the United States Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978, many airlines serving Patrick Henry Airport consolidated their southeast Virginia services at other area airports.
• The closest airport to Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) is Langley Field (LFI), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of PHF.