Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and San Pedro Sula, Honduras:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP), San Pedro Sula, Honduras would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,461 miles (or 8,788 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 Ramón Villeda Morales 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 Ramón Villeda Morales International 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):

• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• 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.
• 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.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• It was seized by the Germans in late May 1940 during the early part of the Battle of France.
• 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 Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP):

• Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) is Golosón International Airport (LCE), which is located 74 miles (119 kilometers) ENE of SAP.
• The furthest airport from Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (meaning Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,046 miles (19,386 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport handled 742,000 passengers last year.
• Because of Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Ramón Villeda Morales 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.
• Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Ramón Villeda Morales, also known as La Mesa International Airport, is located 11 km from the city of San Pedro Sula, in the Cortés Department in Honduras.
• In addition to being known as "Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport", other names for SAP include "Aeropuerto Internacional Ramón Villeda Morales", "La Mesa International Airport" and "Aeropuerto de San Pedro Sula".
• A new terminal is expected to be completed by 2015, in line with the airport expansion program launched by InterAirports.