Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Sal Island, Cape Verde:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Sal Island, Cape Verde would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,744 miles (or 4,416 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 Amílcar Cabral 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 Amílcar Cabral 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):

• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID):

• In 1967, Sal was used again as a refueling stop, this time by South African Airways, for flights to and from Europe, since SAA was denied landing rights by most African countries due to the international boycott of apartheid.
• In addition to being known as "Amílcar Cabral International Airport", another name for SID is "Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral".
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport handled 576 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) S of SID.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Bellona/Anua Airport (BNY), which is nearly antipodal to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (meaning Amílcar Cabral International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bellona/Anua Airport), and is located 12,018 miles (19,341 kilometers) away in Anua, Bellona Island, Solomon Islands.
• Between 1960 and 1967 Sal was a stop of the Voo da amizade, a dedicated service between Brazil and Portugal.
• Because of Amílcar Cabral International Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Amílcar Cabral 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.