Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Zamboanga City, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM), Zamboanga City, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,199 miles (or 11,585 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 Zamboanga 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 Zamboanga 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):

• 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.
• 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".
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM):

• In addition to being known as "Zamboanga International Airport", another name for ZAM is "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng ZamboangaAeropuerto Internacional de Zamboanga".
• December 21, 2007 - The Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications has allotted some P257 million for the improvement of Zamboanga Airport in Zamboanga City.
• The closest airport to Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM) is Ipil Airport (IPE), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) NNE of ZAM.
• Subsequent improvements increased its capacity to hold flights.
• Because of Zamboanga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Zamboanga 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.
• The furthest airport from Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM) is Itaituba Airport (ITB), which is nearly antipodal to Zamboanga International Airport (meaning Zamboanga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Itaituba Airport), and is located 12,209 miles (19,648 kilometers) away in Itaituba, Pará, Brazil.
• The airport, like all other international airports in the Philippines, has runway lights, which make it possible to support night landings.
• Zamboanga International Airport handled 904,668 passengers last year.
• Due to the US-RP Agreement, the US Air force used the airport while the Balikatan exercises were held in the city.
• Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM) currently has only 1 runway.