Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Louisville International Airport (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,507 miles (or 7,254 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 Louisville 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 Louisville 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 Louisville International Airport (SDF):

• The furthest airport from Louisville International Airport (SDF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,239 miles (18,088 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Louisville International Airport's relatively low elevation of 501 feet, planes can take off or land at Louisville 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.
• Worldport is the worldwide air hub for UPS located at the Louisville International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Louisville International Airport handled 3,349,162 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Louisville International Airport", another name for SDF is "Standiford Field".
• In addition to commercial air traffic there is a significant amount of general aviation activity at Louisville International Airport, for business travel and other purposes.
• The closest airport to Louisville International Airport (SDF) is Bowman Field (LOU), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SDF.
• Until around 1947 Bowman Field was Louisville's main airport.
• The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 45 weekday departures on Eastern Airlines, 19 American, 9 TWA, 4 Piedmont and 2 Ozark.
• Louisville International Airport (SDF) has 3 runways.

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

• 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.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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".
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.