Nonstop flight route between Taoyuan County (near Taipei), Taiwan, Republic of China and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), Taoyuan County (near Taipei), Taiwan, Republic of China and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,214 miles (or 10,001 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 Taiwan Taoyuan 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 Taiwan Taoyuan 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 Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE):

• Because of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Taiwan Taoyuan 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.
• Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport recently finished developing the airports business travel center in late 2011.
• Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport currently has two terminals which are connected by two, short people movers.
• The furthest airport from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is Clorinda Airport (CLX), which is nearly antipodal to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (meaning Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clorinda Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina.
• The airport has two parallel runways, with one 3660 meters in length and another 3350 meters in length and both 60 meters wide, enabling them to cater to the next generation of aircraft.
• Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) has 2 runways.
• Terminal 2 is also currently undergoing a small-scale renovation and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
• The closest airport to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) E of TPE.
• In addition to being known as "Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport", other names for TPE include "臺灣桃園國際機場桃園機場" and "Táiwān Táoyuán Gúojì JīchǎngTáoyuán Jīchǎng".

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

• 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".
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.