Nonstop flight route between Xianyang, Shaanxi, China and Valence, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), Xianyang, Shaanxi, China and Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,176 miles (or 8,330 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 Xi'an Xianyang International Airport and Valence - Chabeuil 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 Xi'an Xianyang International Airport and Valence - Chabeuil 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 Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY):

• In 2012, the airport handled 23,420,654 passengers, making it the busiest airport in northwest China and the 8th busiest nationwide.
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport handled 23,420,654 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Xi'an Xianyang International Airport", other names for XIY include "西安咸阳国际机场" and "Xī'ān Xiányáng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is La Unión Airport (LUI), which is nearly antipodal to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (meaning Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Unión Airport), and is located 12,412 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in La Unión, Honduras[disambiguation needed].
• The closest airport to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is Xi'an Xiguan Airport (SIA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) ESE of XIY.
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) has 2 runways.

Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (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.
• 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 airport was a pre-World War II French Air Force airfield.
• Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
• Twelfth Air Force combat engineers moved into Valence-Chabeuil Airport in late August 1944, and cleared the airport of mines and destroyed German aircraft.
• 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".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.