Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Proserpine, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP), Proserpine, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,810 miles (or 15,788 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 Whitsunday Coast 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 Whitsunday Coast 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):

• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP):

• In the year ending 30 June 2011 the airport handled 213,619 passengers making it the 27th busiest airport in Australia.
• The furthest airport from Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,963 miles (19,253 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Coast Airport", another name for PPP is "Proserpine/Whitsunday Coast Airport".
• The closest airport to Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) NE of PPP.
• Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) has 2 runways.
• In September 2001, the airport suffered heavily from the collapse of Ansett Australia, who at the time were the biggest operators out of Proserpine with direct services to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
• Because of Whitsunday Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday Coast 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.