Nonstop flight route between Wallis and Futuna Islands and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WLS to BEX:
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- About this route
- WLS Airport Information
- BEX Airport Information
- Facts about WLS
- Facts about BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to WLS
- List of Nearest Airports to WLS
- Map of Furthest Airports from WLS
- List of Furthest Airports from WLS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WLS / NLWW |
| Airport Name: | Wallis Island |
| Location: | Wallis and Futuna Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 13°16'1"S by 176°11'59"W |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from WLS |
| More Information: | WLS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
| Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
| Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
| More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallis Island (WLS):
- 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.
- Uvea is located 240 km northeast of Futuna and Alofi islands.
- The only commercial flights that go to Wallis are operated by the New Caledonia based Aircalin.
- The population of the island was 10,071 in 2003.
- 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.
- During World War II the island's administration was pro-Vichy until a Free French corvette from New Caledonia deposed the regime on 26 May 1942.
- 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.
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.
- Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England.
- The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
- The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
- Building work for RAF Benson began in 1937.
- 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 closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
