Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Viracopos–Campinas International Airport (VCP), Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,658 miles (or 9,106 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 Viracopos–Campinas 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 Viracopos–Campinas 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 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Viracopos–Campinas International Airport (VCP):

• In the 1970s Viracopos became the international airport for São Paulo, because the runway of São Paulo-Congonhas Airport was too short to accommodate intercontinental jet planes.
• Viracopos–Campinas International Airport handled 8,824,074 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Viracopos–Campinas International Airport (VCP) is Campo dos Amarais State Airport (CPQ), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) N of VCP.
• The furthest airport from Viracopos–Campinas International Airport (VCP) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Viracopos–Campinas International Airport (meaning Viracopos–Campinas International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,216 miles (19,660 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a R$2,814 million investiment plan to up-grade Viracopos International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics in 2016 which will be held in Brazil, São Paulo being one of the venue cities.
• Viracopos–Campinas International Airport (VCP) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Viracopos–Campinas International Airport", another name for VCP is "Aeroporto Internacional de Viracopos–Campinas".