Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Rajkot, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Rajkot Airport (RAJ), Rajkot, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,979 miles (or 6,404 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 Rajkot 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 Rajkot 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):

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

Facts about Rajkot Airport (RAJ):

• In addition to being known as "Rajkot Airport", another name for RAJ is "રાજકોટ વિમાનમથક".
• The closest airport to Rajkot Airport (RAJ) is Jamnagar Airport (JGA), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) WNW of RAJ.
• However, the airport now suffers from considerable capacity restraints, due to the expansion of the city and because of the residential and commercial buildings which have been built around it - this renders the plan to extend the runway unfeasible.
• Rajkot Airport (RAJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Rajkot Airport's relatively low elevation of 441 feet, planes can take off or land at Rajkot 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.
• The furthest airport from Rajkot Airport (RAJ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Rajkot Airport (meaning Rajkot Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The authorities have finalised the site for the first ever international airport in Saurashtra, which will be located near Rajkot.