Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Chongqing, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG), Chongqing, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,366 miles (or 8,635 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG):

• There is a bus transition center between Hall A and Hall B of Terminal 2, and it offers bus services to nearby cities in Sichuan and Guizhou Province, as well as satellite cities of Chongqing Municipality.
• The phase three construction, which included a second runway and another expansion of Terminal 2, started in 2007.
• The furthest airport from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (meaning Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,307 miles (19,806 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is an airport located in the Yubei District of Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
• Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport handled 25,272,039 passengers last year.
• In coming months, CAPA will review the progress and ambitions of Chongqing's rivals in western China.
• In the Terminal 3A which is currently at an early stage of construction, there is a huge underground railway station planned and will be opened in 2015 with the completion of Terminal 3A.
• The closest airport to Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) is Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO), which is located 80 miles (128 kilometers) NNW of CKG.
• In addition to being known as "Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport", other names for CKG include "重庆江北国际机场" and "Chóngqìng Jiāngběi Guójì Jīchǎng".
• In terms of passenger traffic, Chongqing airport was the 9th busiest airport nationwide in 2013, handling 25,248,483 people, nearly 15 percent increase.
• Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) has 4 runways.