Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM), Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,668 miles (or 5,903 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 Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, 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 Portsmouth International Airport at Pease. 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):

• 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".
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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 Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM):

• The closest airport to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) is Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM), which is located 23 miles (36 kilometers) NNE of PSM.
• It shares the runway with the Pease Air National Guard Base, which is actively utilized by the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard, an Air Mobility Command -gained Air National Guard unit operating the KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft.
• Pease was one of 7 Launch Abort Sites and one of 18 Emergency Landing Sites for NASA space shuttle orbiters.
• Portsmouth International Airport at Pease covers an area of 3,000 acres at an elevation of 100 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,729 miles (18,875 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Portsmouth International Airport at Pease's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease 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.