Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Warsaw, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport (WMI), Warsaw, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 949 miles (or 1,528 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 Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia 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):

• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport (WMI):

• Because of Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia 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 furthest airport from Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport (WMI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,452 miles (18,429 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport (WMI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport is an international passenger airport, formerly a disused military airfield, which opened in July 2012, intended for low-cost carriers serving the Warsaw, Poland, market.
• Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport handled 344,476 passengers last year.
• Although the first aircraft was meant to depart Modlin on 16 July 2012, the airport was officially inaugurated the day before, and the first passenger flight from Budapest arrived at the airport around 17:30.
• The closest airport to Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport (WMI) is Historic Centre of Warsaw (WRW), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SE of WMI.
• In addition to being known as "Warsaw–Modlin Mazovia Airport", another name for WMI is "Mazowiecki Port Lotniczy Warszawa–Modlin".