Nonstop flight route between Mirabel (near Montreal), Quebec, Canada and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX), Mirabel (near Montreal), Quebec, Canada and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,722 miles (or 5,991 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 Montréal–Mirabel 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 Montréal–Mirabel 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 Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX):

• In December 2006, in a move he called "correcting a historical injustice," Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the return of 4,450 hectares of farmland expropriated to build Mirabel airport.
• After 1976, Mirabel and Dorval began to decline in importance due to the increasing use in the 1980s of longer-range jets that did not need to refuel in Montréal before crossing the Atlantic.
• The closest airport to Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) is Cartierville Airport (YCV), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SE of YMX.
• Starting in 2011 the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Drag racing and other forms of Motorsport began running on the airport's runways and surrounding areas, on what is known as Circuit ICAR.
• To ensure Mirabel's survival, all international flights for Montréal were banned from Dorval from 1975 to 1997.
• In addition to being known as "Montréal–Mirabel International Airport", another name for YMX is "Aéroport international Montréal–Mirabel".
• The furthest airport from Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,493 miles (18,495 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Montréal–Mirabel International Airport's relatively low elevation of 271 feet, planes can take off or land at Montréal–Mirabel 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.
• In the late 1990s, Maclean's magazine interviewed one resident, whose farm was expropriated, who said that his land was sacrificed to save the city.
• It was intended to replace the existing Dorval Airport as the eastern air gateway to Canada.
• Montréal–Mirabel International Airport opened for business on October 4, 1975, in time for the 1976 Summer Olympics.
• Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) has 2 runways.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.