Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Medan, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,242 miles (or 10,045 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 Kualanamu 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 Kualanamu 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):

• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Kualanamu International Airport (KNO):

• Because of Kualanamu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Kualanamu 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 train runs trip from Medan Main Station beside the Merdeka Square at Balai Kota Street at 04:00 a.m.
• In addition to being known as "Kualanamu International Airport", other names for KNO include "Kualanamu International Airport (Medan)" and "Bandar Udara Internasional Kualanamu".
• A soft opening started on July 25, 2013.
• The first airline uses the airport as a regional hub is Mihin Lanka which route from Jakarta to Jeddah with transit at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Kualanamu International Airport (meaning Kualanamu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,385 miles (19,931 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
• Airside facilities would be controlled by the Indonesian government, while landside facilities would be owned by a joint venture with PT Angkasa Pura II, which is expected to provide $350 million as an initial investment in return for a 30-year lease, after which ownership would revert to PT Angkasa Pura II.
• Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is Indonesia's second largest, after Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with a 224,298 m² passengers terminal and will eventually have a capacity of 50 million passengers, a figure if realised today would place the airport in the top 10 busiest by passenger numbers in the world, although by the time this figure is achieved it is likely that there will be many airports carrying more passengers.
• The closest airport to Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) is Polonia International Airport (MES), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) WSW of KNO.
• The airport opened on July 25, 2013, handling all flights and services shifted from Polonia International Airport.