Nonstop flight route between Valence, France and Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France and Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,164 miles (or 13,138 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 Johnston Atoll 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 Johnston Atoll 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):

• Today the airport is a modern, fully equipped facility with two additional parallel grass runways available for use.
• 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.
• The Portez was a heavy twin-engined fighter.
• Twelfth Air Force combat engineers moved into Valence-Chabeuil Airport in late August 1944, and cleared the airport of mines and destroyed German aircraft.
• Valence - Chabeuil Airport is an airport in France, located about 5 miles east of Valence and approximately 300 miles south-southeast of Paris.
• 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.
• After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Johnston Atoll Airport (JON):

• Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) is Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD), which is nearly antipodal to Johnston Atoll Airport (meaning Johnston Atoll Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lubango Mukanka Airport), and is located 12,195 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Lubango, Angola.
• The closest airport to Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is located 733 miles (1,179 kilometers) ENE of JON.
• On 15 December 1941 the atoll was shelled by a Japanese submarine outside the reef, several buildings were hit, but no personnel were injured.
• In July 1942 the civilian contractors at the atoll were replaced by 500 men from the 5th and 10th Naval Construction Battalions, who expanded the fuel storage and water production at the base and built additional facilities.
• Because of Johnston Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Johnston Atoll 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.