Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Palmerston North, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Palmerston North Airport (PMR), Palmerston North, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,648 miles (or 18,746 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 Palmerston North 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 Palmerston North 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):

• Denain Airport began as a pre-World War II airport in France, most likely with a grass runway and several support buildings and a hangar.
• Denain Airport was cleared of German forces by Allied ground forces about 11 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• C-47 Skytrain transports moved in and out of the American controlled airfield almost immediately after the runway was repaired, supplying the front line forces with the necessary materiel to support their advance.
• 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.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• Reconstruction of the airport included an entirely new asphalt runway, aligned 11/29, along with appropriate taxiways, ramp space and new infrastructure buildings on the north-west side of the airfield.
• 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.

Facts about Palmerston North Airport (PMR):

• Palmerston North Airport handled 449,090 passengers last year.
• On 17 May 1998, ten people towed a fully fuelled Freedom Air Boeing 737-300 over 100 metres in 47 seconds, to celebrate the opening of the new runway extensions.
• The furthest airport from Palmerston North Airport (PMR) is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), which is nearly antipodal to Palmerston North Airport (meaning Palmerston North Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Madrid, Spain.
• The closest airport to Palmerston North Airport (PMR) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) NW of PMR.
• There were two regular international services departing from this airport, to Sydney and Brisbane operated by Freedom Air, however services ended in March 2008.
• Palmerston North Airport (PMR) has 2 runways.
• Because of Palmerston North Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Palmerston North 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.