Nonstop flight route between San Antonio, Texas, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Antonio International Airport (SAT), San Antonio, Texas, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,449 miles (or 8,770 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 San Antonio International Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, 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 San Antonio International Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base. 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 San Antonio International Airport (SAT):

• San Antonio International Airport handled 8,034,720 passengers last year.
• In 2011, airport passenger traffic was up 1.7% over 2010.
• The closest airport to San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) E of SAT.
• The furthest airport from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,114 miles (17,886 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Airport officials produce a 30-minute news program about once every quarter.
• Because of San Antonio International Airport's relatively low elevation of 809 feet, planes can take off or land at San Antonio 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.
• Airport diagram for March 1962
• San Antonio International Airport has two terminals with an overall 24 jet bridge gates.
• On August 1, 2012 both terminals of the airport were evacuated due to a bomb threat called from the parking garage.
• San Antonio International Airport (SAT) has 3 runways.
• A two-level parking garage immediately across from Terminal A opened in 1982, and the five-level parking garage opened in 1999.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.