Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Lethbridge Airport (YQL), Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,987 miles (or 8,026 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 Lethbridge 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 Lethbridge 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):

• 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Lethbridge Airport (YQL):

• The furthest airport from Lethbridge Airport (YQL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,420 miles (16,770 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Time Air was a regional airline that was initially based in Lethbridge.
• At the outbreak of World War II, Kenyon Field became a training facility under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
• The closest airport to Lethbridge Airport (YQL) is Pincher Creek Airport (WPC), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) W of YQL.
• On 7 February 2009, a general aviation Cessna 150 crash-landed in a field at the airport.
• On 26 July 2009, the Evergreen Supertanker successfully landed and took off from runway 05 as part of the 2009 airshow, marking the first time a Boeing 747 has used this airport.
• Lethbridge Airport (YQL) has 2 runways.