Nonstop flight route between Valence, France and Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France and Hakodate Airport (HKD), Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,856 miles (or 9,425 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 Hakodate 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport and Hakodate 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):

• Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
• 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".
• Today the airport is a modern, fully equipped facility with two additional parallel grass runways available for use.
• In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base.
• 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 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.
• Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service.

Facts about Hakodate Airport (HKD):

• The closest airport to Hakodate Airport (HKD) is Aomori Airport (AOJ), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) S of HKD.
• Hakodate Airport, is an airport located 7.6 km east of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan.
• The furthest airport from Hakodate Airport (HKD) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,458 miles (18,440 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Hakodate Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Hakodate 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.
• In addition to being known as "Hakodate Airport", other names for HKD include "函館空港" and "Hakodate Kūkō".
• Hakodate Airport (HKD) currently has only 1 runway.
• On September 6, 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to the West by landing a MiG-25 Foxbat aircraft at Hakodate Airport.
• Scheduled buses operate to Hakodate Station and the Onuma Prince Hotel.