Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Townsville, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Townsville Airport (TSV), Townsville, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,668 miles (or 15,559 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 Townsville 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 Townsville 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):

• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Townsville Airport (TSV):

• The furthest airport from Townsville Airport (TSV) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,884 miles (19,125 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Townsville Airport handled 1,644,089 passengers last year.
• Qantas maintains a Qantas Club lounge in the airport terminal, with access for Qantas Club and affiliate members.
• The closest airport to Townsville Airport (TSV) is Charters Towers Airport (CXT), which is located 63 miles (102 kilometers) SSW of TSV.
• During 1942, the defence establishment in the Townsville region increased enormously, and five other military airfields were built in the immediate vicinity of Townsville.
• On 15 November 2011, Air North announced plans to commence services between Townsville & Darwin.
• In the mid-1990s domestic flights started to decrease, with some services being cut back by Qantas and Ansett.
• Townsville Airport (TSV) has 2 runways.
• Because of Townsville Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Townsville 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.
• With the new demand for international services, Townsville became the first regional Australian airport to offer direct long-distance international flights.
• In addition to being known as "Townsville Airport", other names for TSV include "Garbutt Airport" and "Townsville International Airport".
• The airport is located 2 nautical miles west of the Townsville CBD.