Nonstop flight route between Seward, Alaska, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Seward Airport (SWD), Seward, Alaska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,130 miles (or 8,255 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 Seward 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 Seward 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 Seward Airport (SWD):

• Seward Airport (SWD) has 2 runways.
• Seward Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Seward, a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough of the U.S.
• The airport was built during World War II.
• The closest airport to Seward Airport (SWD) is Chenega Bay Airport (NCN), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) E of SWD.
• Because of Seward Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Seward 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.
• Seward Airport covers an area of 302 acres at an elevation of 22 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Seward Airport (SWD) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,617 miles (17,086 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

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

• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
• 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17