Nonstop flight route between Sofia, Bulgaria and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SOF to QIE:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SOF Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about SOF
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SOF
- List of Nearest Airports to SOF
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOF
- List of Furthest Airports from SOF
- 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 931 miles (or 1,499 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna 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: | SOF / LBSF |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| GPS Coordinates: | 42°41'42"N by 23°24'29"E |
| Area Served: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Operator/Owner: | Sofia Airport EAD |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SOF |
| More Information: | SOF 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):
- In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The new tower is an extremely important facility for both ATC and the airport because it is related to the safety and security of flights, explained by the transport department.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
- A lot of consideration has been given to the design of the layout, the functional definition of the working positions, the operations room surface area for ANS provision and meteorological observation, as well as to the requirements for visibility to the runway and the approaches and access to an open observation platform.
- The construction of the new Sofia tower is related to the reconstruction and development of Sofia Airport and is the natural extension of the development of the airport complex.
- The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
- 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 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.
