Nonstop flight route between Santa Rosa, California, United States and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS), Santa Rosa, California, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,487 miles (or 8,831 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 Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County 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 Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County 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 Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS):

• Opened in June 1942 and known as Santa Rosa Army Air Field, the airfield was assigned to Fourth Air Force as a group and replacement training airfield.
• The closest airport to Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) is Marin County Airport (NOT), which is located 29 miles (46 kilometers) SSE of STS.
• In addition to being known as "Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport", another name for STS is "Santa Rosa Army Airfield".
• The Sonoma Air Attack Base of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was established in 1964 and is located at the northeast corner of the airport.
• Because of Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County 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.
• As part of an agreement between the airport, Alaska Airlines, and the local enotourism industry announced in January 2012 that passengers are allowed to check a 12 bottle case of wine for free on all Alaska Airlines flights from the airport.
• The furthest airport from Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,331 miles (18,235 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• All Alaska Airlines flights from the airport are operated with the 76-seat Bombardier Q400 propjet, which is the largest and fastest member of the DHC-8 Dash 8 family of regional turboprops.
• Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) has 2 runways.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• Denain Airport was cleared of German forces by Allied ground forces about 11 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• It was seized by the Germans in late May 1940 during the early part of the Battle of France.
• In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years.
• 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.
• 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.
• It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.