Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Georgetown, Cayman Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from QIE to GCM:
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- About this route
- QIE Airport Information
- GCM Airport Information
- Facts about QIE
- Facts about GCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to GCM
- List of Nearest Airports to GCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from GCM
- List of Furthest Airports from GCM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM), Georgetown, Cayman Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,129 miles (or 8,255 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 Owen Roberts 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 Owen Roberts International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GCM / MWCR |
Airport Name: | Owen Roberts International Airport |
Location: | Georgetown, Cayman Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°17'33"N by 81°21'33"W |
Operator/Owner: | Cayman Islands Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GCM |
More Information: | GCM Maps & Info |
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- 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.
- The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
- 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 Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM):
- The furthest airport from Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,931 miles (19,202 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Owen Roberts International Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Owen Roberts 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.
- In 2007, the Cayman Islands Government announced plans to expand and upgrade the existing airport.
- The closest airport to Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) is Edward Bodden Airfield - Little Cayman (LYB), which is located 87 miles (140 kilometers) ENE of GCM.
- Additional renovations completed in 2012 include refurbishing the departure hall interior and livening up the passport control and customs hall with aquatic paintings and use of an aggressive digital advertising campaign in the baggage claim area.