Nonstop flight route between Parakou, Benin and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Parakou Airport (PKO), Parakou, Benin and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,831 miles (or 4,556 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 Parakou Airport and Valenciennes-Denain 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 Parakou Airport and Valenciennes-Denain 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 Parakou Airport (PKO):

• The closest airport to Parakou Airport (PKO) is Djougou Airport (DJA), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of PKO.
• In addition to being known as "Parakou Airport", another name for PKO is "Parakou Airport (Parakou)".
• Parakou Airport (PKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Parakou Airport (PKO) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Parakou Airport (meaning Parakou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,197 miles (19,629 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• Because of Valenciennes-Denain Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Valenciennes-Denain 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.
• It was seized by the Germans in late May 1940 during the early part of the Battle of France.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,987 miles (19,291 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Reconstruction of the airport included an entirely new asphalt runway, aligned 11/29, along with appropriate taxiways, ramp space and new infrastructure buildings on the north-west side of the airfield.
• After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.
• It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• In response to the interceptor attacks, Denain was attacked by USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauder medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolts mostly with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs.