Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Salt Lake City, Utah, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,416 miles (or 8,716 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 Salt Lake City International 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 Salt Lake City International 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):

• 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.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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 Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC):

• Salt Lake City International Airport handled 20,102,078 passengers last year.
• Because of Salt Lake City International Airport's high elevation of 4,227 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is Skypark Airport (BTF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNE of SLC.
• The furthest airport from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,958 miles (17,635 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• For several years the new field was used mainly for training and aerobatic flights.
• The first terminal and airport administration building was built in 1933 at a cost of $52,000.
• Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines have scheduled flights to cities in Canada, Mexico, and France.
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) has 4 runways.
• The Utah Air National Guard operates Salt Lake City Air National Guard Base on the east side of the airport.
• The airport is the fourth largest and westernmost hub for Delta Air Lines and a hub for Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines and with nearly 300 daily departures, accounting for a 73.69% market share in 2013.