Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP), Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,383 miles (or 8,664 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 Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan 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 Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan 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):

• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP):

• In addition to being known as "Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport", other names for SHP include "秦皇岛山海关机场" and "Qínhuángdǎo Shānhǎiguān Jīchǎng".
• Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP) is Tres Arroyos Airport (OYO), which is nearly antipodal to Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (meaning Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tres Arroyos Airport), and is located 12,328 miles (19,839 kilometers) away in Tres Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP) is Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) W of SHP.