Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Kamuela, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE), Kamuela, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,878 miles (or 12,679 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 Waimea-Kohala 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 Waimea-Kohala 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):

• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.

Facts about Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE):

• The furthest airport from Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Waimea-Kohala Airport (meaning Waimea-Kohala Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 407 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 313 enplanements in 2009, and 47 in 2010.
• Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Previously, Pacific Wings operated service to Honolulu and Kahului.
• The closest airport to Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of MUE.