Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Moscow, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Vnukovo International Airport (VKO), Moscow, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,650 miles (or 2,655 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 relatively short distance between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Vnukovo International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.

Facts about Vnukovo International Airport (VKO):

• The Tupolev airliner rework facility is located at the edge of the airport, and major overhaul and modification programmes are carried out in several large aircraft hangars.
• Vnukovo International Airport handled 11,175,100 passengers last year.
• Because of Vnukovo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 686 feet, planes can take off or land at Vnukovo 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.
• Vnukovo Airport was opened and used for military operations during the Second World War, but became a civilian facility after the war.
• Several taxi services to Moscow city and suburbs are available at the airport.
• Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) has 2 runways.
• On 15 September 1956, the Tupolev Tu-104 jetliner made its first passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Irkutsk via Omsk.
• Of the three Moscow airports, Vnukovo is the highest.
• The closest airport to Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) is Ostafyevo International Airport (OSF), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of VKO.
• Vnukovo is the oldest Moscow's operating airport.
• On the northern perimeter of the airport, the government VIP transport wing is located, operating head-of-state flights for high-ranking government officials.
• In addition to being known as "Vnukovo International Airport", another name for VKO is "Международный Аэропорт Внуково".
• The expansion plans include lengthening one of the two V-configured runways to 3,800 m and upgrading the instrument landing system from the present CAT II to CAT III.
• The furthest airport from Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,747 miles (17,296 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.