Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from XVS to GFK:
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- About this route
- XVS Airport Information
- GFK Airport Information
- Facts about XVS
- Facts about GFK
- Map of Nearest Airports to XVS
- List of Nearest Airports to XVS
- Map of Furthest Airports from XVS
- List of Furthest Airports from XVS
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFK
- List of Nearest Airports to GFK
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFK
- List of Furthest Airports from GFK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,179 miles (or 6,726 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport and Grand Forks International 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport and Grand Forks International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | XVS / LFAV |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Valenciennes, France |
| GPS Coordinates: | 50°19'32"N by 3°27'39"E |
| Elevation: | 177 feet (54 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from XVS |
| More Information: | XVS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFK / KGFK |
| Airport Name: | Grand Forks International Airport |
| Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°56'57"N by 97°10'33"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 845 feet (258 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 4 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GFK |
| More Information: | GFK Maps & Info |
Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):
- It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
- It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
- In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years.
- In response to the interceptor attacks, Denain was attacked by USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauder medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolts mostly with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs.
- In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
- The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
- Because of Valenciennes-Denain Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Valenciennes-Denain 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,987 miles (19,291 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Grand Forks International Airport (GFK):
- The furthest airport from Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,514 miles (16,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) has 4 runways.
- Grand Forks International Airport is a public airport five miles northwest of Grand Forks, in Grand Forks County, North Dakota.
- Because of Grand Forks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Grand Forks International 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 the mid-2000s, discussion began of upgrading or totally replacing the terminal as it has structural and safety problems and leaves little to no room for expansion.
- The now closed original passenger terminal at GFK was built in 1964.
- On October 3, 2012, United Airlines started flights between Denver, CO and Grand Forks, but on September 10, 2013 they announced they would end service on December 3, 2013 citing low loads.
- The closest airport to Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) W of GFK.
- Most operations at GFK is from the University of North Dakota.
- KGFK is a non-hub, primary commercial service airport.
