Nonstop flight route between Wallis and Futuna Islands and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallis Island (WLS), Wallis and Futuna Islands and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,773 miles (or 15,728 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 Wallis Island and RAF Benson, 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 Wallis Island and RAF Benson. 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 Wallis Island (WLS):

• Uvea is located 240 km northeast of Futuna and Alofi islands.
• Because of Wallis Island's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallis Island 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.
• At their arrival, Catholic missionaries were welcomed by the King Vaimua Lavelua then baptized "Soane-Patita Vaimua".
• On 5 April 1842, the authorities of Wallis Island requested protection by France with a protectorate treaty signed in April 1887.
• The closest airport to Wallis Island (WLS) is Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport (FUT), which is located 145 miles (233 kilometers) WSW of WLS.
• The only commercial flights that go to Wallis are operated by the New Caledonia based Aircalin.
• The furthest airport from Wallis Island (WLS) is Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM), which is nearly antipodal to Wallis Island (meaning Wallis Island is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diori Hamani International Airport), and is located 12,326 miles (19,837 kilometers) away in Niamey, Niger.
• The King also appoints, on proposition of the populations, three chiefs for each district.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The station is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.
• The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
• The King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.