Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and San Juan, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG), San Juan, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,408 miles (or 7,094 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 Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci 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 Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci 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"
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.

Facts about Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG):

• The closest airport to Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) E of SIG.
• Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport covers an area of 102 acres at an elevation of 9 feet above mean sea level.
• Isla Grande was renamed in honor of United States Air Force Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, an F-111 pilot who was killed in action during Operation El Dorado Canyon.
• The furthest airport from Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (meaning Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,244 miles (19,704 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Until 1971, the airport also hosted Coast Guard Air Station San Juan.
• Because of Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 13,837 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 23,083 enplanements in 2009, and 38,363 in 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport", another name for SIG is "Isla Grande AirportAeropuerto Isla Grande".
• On August 4, 2011 the FAA announced that they were planning to close the airport's control tower due to budget cuts, since they operate it instead of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.