Nonstop flight route between Kelso, Washington, United States and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southwest Washington Regional Airport (KLS), Kelso, Washington, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,044 miles (or 8,117 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 Southwest Washington Regional 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 Southwest Washington Regional 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 Southwest Washington Regional Airport (KLS):

• The furthest airport from Southwest Washington Regional Airport (KLS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,876 miles (17,503 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Southwest Washington Regional Airport (KLS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has one passenger terminal consisting of 12 gates.
• Kelso-Longview Airport opened in May 1941 on 109 acres of a nearby dairy farm, as a training field for amateur pilots, and has since become a regional transportation center for southwest Washington.
• Because of Southwest Washington Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Washington Regional 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 closest airport to Southwest Washington Regional Airport (KLS) is South Lewis County Airport (TDO), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) N of KLS.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• C-47 Skytrain transports moved in and out of the American controlled airfield almost immediately after the runway was repaired, supplying the front line forces with the necessary materiel to support their advance.
• 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.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
• 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.
• The wartime air base is still evident with the 5500' concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads.