Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Zhangye, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY), Zhangye, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,696 miles (or 7,558 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 Zhangye Ganzhou 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 Zhangye Ganzhou 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):

• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY):

• The closest airport to Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport (RHT), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of YZY.
• The furthest airport from Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is Pichoy Airport (ZAL), which is nearly antipodal to Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (meaning Zhangye Ganzhou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pichoy Airport), and is located 12,098 miles (19,470 kilometers) away in Valdivia, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Zhangye Ganzhou Airport", other names for YZY include "张掖甘州机场" and "Zhāngyè Gānzhōu Jīchǎng".