Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Saltillo, Mexico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Plan de Guadalupe International Airport (SLW), Saltillo, Mexico would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,750 miles (or 9,253 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 Plan de Guadalupe 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 Plan de Guadalupe 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):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about Plan de Guadalupe International Airport (SLW):

• This airport receives few flights a day due to its proximity to Monterrey's General Mariano Escobedo International Airport and Del Norte International Airport.
• The international category was given back in 1987, when the runway was expanded to receive aircraft such as the Boeing 757, and the new terminal was opened with four boarding gates, a modern ticketing area, customs, migration, baggage claim areas, and a cafeteria.
• The closest airport to Plan de Guadalupe International Airport (SLW) is General Mariano Escobedo International Airport (MTY), which is located 54 miles (86 kilometers) ENE of SLW.
• Because of Plan de Guadalupe International Airport's high elevation of 4,778 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Plan de Guadalupe International Airport (SLW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Plan de Guadalupe International Airport (SLW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,359 miles (18,281 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Plan de Guadalupe International Airport", another name for SLW is "Aeropuerto Internacional Plan de Guadalupe".