Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Lafayette, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT), Lafayette, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,867 miles (or 7,832 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 Lafayette Regional 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 Lafayette Regional 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):

• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
• 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.
• It is known that Denain was used by the Royal Air Force, as it was assigned ALG "B-74".
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT):

• The closest airport to Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) is Acadiana Regional Airport (ARA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of LFT.
• Lafayette Regional Airport is building a new cargo terminal on the southwest side of the airfield, near the PHI headquarters.
• Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) has 3 runways.
• The first jet service into the airport was operated by Texas International Airlines with Douglas DC-9-10 twinjets to Houston, Dallas/Ft.
• Because of Lafayette Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Lafayette Regional 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.
• Several independent commuter airlines served Lafayette over the years as well.
• The furthest airport from Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,070 miles (17,815 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The last major airline jet service for the airport was operated by Continental Airlines with Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-500 jetliners nonstop to Houston.