Nonstop flight route between West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from CAE to QIE:
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- About this route
- CAE Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about CAE
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to CAE
- List of Nearest Airports to CAE
- Map of Furthest Airports from CAE
- List of Furthest Airports from CAE
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,477 miles (or 7,205 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 Columbia Metropolitan 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 Columbia Metropolitan 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CAE / KCAE |
Airport Name: | Columbia Metropolitan Airport |
Location: | West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°56'20"N by 81°7'9"W |
Area Served: | Columbia, South Carolina |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 236 feet (72 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from CAE |
More Information: | CAE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE):
- Training at Columbia Army Air Base was phased down during the summer of 1945.
- Columbia Metropolitan Airport handled 1,027,699 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,508 miles (18,520 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- In 1941 the airport came under formal military control and an immediate program began to turn the civil airport into a military airfield.
- Eastern Airlines provided service to Charlotte, Washington, and New York.
- Because of Columbia Metropolitan Airport's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at Columbia Metropolitan 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.
- Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) has 2 runways.
- Passenger service was begun by Delta Air Lines which has served Columbia for over 70 years.
- One of the earliest units to train at Columbia AAB was the 17th Bombardment Group, which arrived on 9 February 1942.
- The airport is a hub for UPS Airlines and was a hub for Air South, a former low-cost carrier.
- In November 1982, Piedmont Airlines returned to Columbia with flights to Charlotte and later Newark.
- The closest airport to Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of CAE.
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.
- 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 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.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
- 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.
- The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
- 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.
- 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.