Nonstop flight route between Xiamen, Fujian, China and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN), Xiamen, Fujian, China and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,114 miles (or 9,839 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 Xiamen Gaoqi 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 Xiamen Gaoqi 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 Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN):

• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport handled 17,354,076 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is Kinmen Airport (Kinmen Shang Yi Airport) (KNH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ESE of XMN.
• Because of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Xiamen Gaoqi 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.
• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport", other names for XMN include "厦门高崎国际机场" and "Xiàmén Gāoqí Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is Tartagal "General Enrique Mosconi" Airport (TTG), which is nearly antipodal to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (meaning Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tartagal "General Enrique Mosconi" Airport), and is located 12,257 miles (19,725 kilometers) away in Tartagal, Salta, Argentina.

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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.