Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Shenzhen, Guangdong, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,026 miles (or 9,697 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 Shenzhen Bao'an 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 Shenzhen Bao'an 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX):

• The furthest airport from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) is Bermejo Airport (BJO), which is nearly antipodal to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (meaning Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bermejo Airport), and is located 12,317 miles (19,822 kilometers) away in Bermejo, Bolivia.
• The new terminal is three times the size of terminals A and B and represents a huge upgrade of the airport's facilities and capacity.
• These terminals covered an area of 152,000 sq meters and consisting of 24 jetways.
• The closest airport to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) is Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) SSE of SZX.
• Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport", other names for SZX include "深圳宝安国际机场" and "Shēnzhèn Bǎo'ān Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Because of Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Shenzhen Bao'an International 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 fourth floor has eight check-in areas, labeled A to H, with a total of 192 check-in counters.
• The traffic center offers local and long-distance bus services on the first floor, with taxi and Airport Express Shuttle 330 bus services on the second floor.
• Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport handled 32,268,400 passengers last year.