Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Wuxi/Suzhou, Jiangsu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX), Wuxi/Suzhou, Jiangsu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,847 miles (or 9,410 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 Sunan Shuofang 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 Sunan Shuofang 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):

• 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".
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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 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 Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX):

• Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sunan Shuofang International Airport handled 2,535,227 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) is Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of WUX.
• In addition to being known as "Sunan Shuofang International Airport", other names for WUX include "苏南硕放国际机场" and "Sūnán Shuòfàng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) is General Justo José de Urquiza Airport (PRA), which is nearly antipodal to Sunan Shuofang International Airport (meaning Sunan Shuofang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Justo José de Urquiza Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,923 kilometers) away in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• Because of Sunan Shuofang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Sunan Shuofang 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.