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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Abbotsford International Airport (YXX), Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,292 miles (or 8,517 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 Abbotsford 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 Abbotsford 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 Abbotsford International Airport (YXX):

• In September 1984 Pope John Paul II held an open-air mass for over 200,000 people at the airport.
• Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) has 2 runways.
• Abbotsford International Airport handled 475,223 passengers last year.
• Because of Abbotsford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 194 feet, planes can take off or land at Abbotsford 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.
• The closest airport to Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) is Blaine Municipal Airport (BWS), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) W of YXX.
• The furthest airport from Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,682 miles (17,191 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Abbotsford became a jet passenger airport in June 1997 with the start of scheduled service to Alberta by WestJet.
• Constructed as a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan airport.

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

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