Nonstop flight route between Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kamloops Airport (YKA), Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,149 miles (or 8,286 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 Kamloops 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 Kamloops 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 Kamloops Airport (YKA):

• In addition to being known as "Kamloops Airport", another name for YKA is "Fulton Field".
• In addition, the airport was used by the Royal Canadian Air Force as an alternate route for the no longer existent Air Transport Command for flights to the Soviet Union.
• On July 31, 2010, a Convair CV-580 airtanker operated by Convair Aviation, on route to the Kamloops Airport, crashed and was destroyed due to a local forest fire on the British Columbia Ministry of Forests land near Siwash Road, some 15 kilometres south of Lytton, British Columbia, a town in the Thompson region, along with Kamloops.
• Kamloops Airport has provided flights to several destinations by charter airlines as well, including the Denver International Airport, San Diego International Airport, San Jose International Airport and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
• The closest airport to Kamloops Airport (YKA) is Merritt Airport (YMB), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) SSW of YKA.
• Kelowna International Airport, an international airport operated in nearby city of Kelowna, has had a small impact on this airport, since they both share the same catchment area.
• The furthest airport from Kamloops Airport (YKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,541 miles (16,964 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Kamloops Airport handled 275,424 passengers last year.
• Kamloops Airport (YKA) has 2 runways.
• Kamloops Airport's telecommunication equipment was provided at a separate building in 1977, with 235,600 passengers garnered from it that same year.
• The airport has daily scheduled flights to 9 destinations in Canada provided by Air Canada Express, Central Mountain Air and WestJet.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (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.
• 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.