Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Noatak, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from QIE to WTK:
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- About this route
- QIE Airport Information
- WTK Airport Information
- Facts about QIE
- Facts about WTK
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to WTK
- List of Nearest Airports to WTK
- Map of Furthest Airports from WTK
- List of Furthest Airports from WTK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Noatak Airport (WTK), Noatak, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,736 miles (or 7,621 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 Noatak 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 Noatak Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WTK / PAWN |
Airport Name: | Noatak Airport |
Location: | Noatak, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 67°33'39"N by 162°58'49"W |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 88 feet (27 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WTK |
More Information: | WTK Maps & Info |
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 is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
- 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".
- On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
- 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.
- C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
- 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.
- 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 Noatak Airport (WTK):
- Noatak Airport (WTK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Noatak Airport (WTK) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,321 miles (16,611 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The closest airport to Noatak Airport (WTK) is Kivalina Airport (KVL), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of WTK.
- Because of Noatak Airport's relatively low elevation of 88 feet, planes can take off or land at Noatak 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.