Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Gwangju (Kwangju), South Korea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Gwangju Airport (KWJ), Gwangju (Kwangju), South Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,599 miles (or 9,011 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 Gwangju 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 Gwangju 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• The wartime air base is still evident with the 5500' concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads.
• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
• 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.
• In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• 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.

Facts about Gwangju Airport (KWJ):

• Gwangju Airport (KWJ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gwangju Airport (KWJ) is Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport (PDP), which is nearly antipodal to Gwangju Airport (meaning Gwangju Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport), and is located 12,327 miles (19,839 kilometers) away in Maldonado/Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay.
• The closest airport to Gwangju Airport (KWJ) is Mokpo Airport (MPK), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) SW of KWJ.
• Because of Gwangju Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Gwangju 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.
• Gwangju Airport handled 1,539,187 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Gwangju Airport", other names for KWJ include "광주공항 光州空港", "Gwangju Gonghang" and "Kwangju Konghang".