Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMA to QIE:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,641 miles (or 2,641 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 relatively short distance between Santa Maria Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
- It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
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.
- 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.
- The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
- 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".
- 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.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.