Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Valence, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States and Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,962 miles (or 9,595 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 San Diego International Airport and Valence - Chabeuil 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 San Diego International Airport and Valence - Chabeuil 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 San Diego International Airport (SAN):

• Built and operated by the City of San Diego through the sale of municipal bonds to be repaid by airport users, then the San Diego Unified Port District, the airport is now operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Japan Airlines began service to Tokyo-Narita on December 2, 2012, using the Boeing 787 aircraft.
• The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego 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.
• The furthest airport from San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The top five airlines by market share in 2011 are Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.
• Inspired by Lindbergh's flight and excited to have made his plane, the city of San Diego passed a bond issue in 1928 for the construction of a two-runway municipal airport.
• Landing at the airport from the east offers closeup views of skyscrapers, Petco Park, and the Coronado Bridge from the left side of the aircraft.

Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):

• The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
• Twelfth Air Force combat engineers moved into Valence-Chabeuil Airport in late August 1944, and cleared the airport of mines and destroyed German aircraft.
• Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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 airport's origin dates from the 1930s when the French Air Force established Valence-Chabeuil Air Base.
• Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
• The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.