Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ), Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,325 miles (or 6,960 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 Virgin Gorda 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 Virgin Gorda 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.

Facts about Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ):

• The closest airport to Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of VIJ.
• The furthest airport from Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Virgin Gorda Airport (meaning Virgin Gorda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Virgin Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgin Gorda 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.
• Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) currently has only 1 runway.