Nonstop flight route between Soldotna, Alaska, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Soldotna Airport (SXQ), Soldotna, Alaska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,124 miles (or 8,247 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 Soldotna 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 Soldotna 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 Soldotna Airport (SXQ):

• Soldotna Airport (SXQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Soldotna Airport (SXQ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,600 miles (17,059 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• On July 7, 2013, an air taxi crashed, killing all ten people on board.
• The closest airport to Soldotna Airport (SXQ) is Kenai Municipal Airport (ENA), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) NW of SXQ.
• Because of Soldotna Airport's relatively low elevation of 113 feet, planes can take off or land at Soldotna 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.

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

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".