Nonstop flight route between Valence, France and Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France and Chatham Islands (CHT), Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,333 miles (or 19,848 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport and Chatham Islands, 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport and Chatham Islands. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between VAF and CHT makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Valence - Chabeuil Airport and Chatham Islands would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between VAF and CHT are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Valence, France and Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between VAF and CHT!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):

• 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".
• In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base.
• The airport was a pre-World War II French Air Force airfield.
• 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 closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
• 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.

Facts about Chatham Islands (CHT):

• In addition to being known as "Chatham Islands", another name for CHT is "Tuuta Airport".
• The airport was completed in 1982 to replace an earlier built compacted grass airstrip at Te Hapupu that could only handle slow flying Safe Air Bristol Freighter aircraft.
• Because of Chatham Islands's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Chatham Islands 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.
• Chatham Islands (CHT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Air Chathams operate services to Auckland, to Christchurch, and to Wellington operating Convair 580 aircraft, on the following days.
• The airport is the base of Air Chathams and usually houses two aircraft overnight.
• The closest airport to Chatham Islands (CHT) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is located 448 miles (722 kilometers) WNW of CHT.
• The furthest airport from Chatham Islands (CHT) is Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), which is nearly antipodal to Chatham Islands (meaning Chatham Islands is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport), and is located 12,410 miles (19,972 kilometers) away in Montpellier, France.
• Chatham Islands / Tuuta Airport is a small airport 10.5 nautical miles northeast of Waitangi Township on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.