Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Luganville, Vanuatu:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from XVS to SON:
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- About this route
- XVS Airport Information
- SON Airport Information
- Facts about XVS
- Facts about SON
- Map of Nearest Airports to XVS
- List of Nearest Airports to XVS
- Map of Furthest Airports from XVS
- List of Furthest Airports from XVS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SON
- List of Nearest Airports to SON
- Map of Furthest Airports from SON
- List of Furthest Airports from SON
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,866 miles (or 15,877 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 Santo-Pekoa 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 Santo-Pekoa International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XVS / LFAV |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Valenciennes, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°19'32"N by 3°27'39"E |
Elevation: | 177 feet (54 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XVS |
More Information: | XVS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SON / NVSS |
Airport Name: | Santo-Pekoa International Airport |
Location: | Luganville, Vanuatu |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°30'20"S by 167°13'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | Airports Vanuatu Limited |
Elevation: | 184 feet (56 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SON |
More Information: | SON Maps & Info |
Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):
- In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes.
- The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of 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.
- In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Denain Airport was cleared of German forces by Allied ground forces about 11 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
Facts about Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON):
- Because of Santo-Pekoa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 184 feet, planes can take off or land at Santo-Pekoa 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.
- The Thirteenth Air Force was based at Pekoa from 13 January 1943 until 20 January 1944 when it moved to Carney Airfield on Guadalcanal.
- Luganville Airfield was used as a civilian airstrip until the early 1970s, however as it was on higher ground it was often clouded in and so it was decided to move all operations to the former Pekoa Airfield/Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport.
- The furthest airport from Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Ouro Sogui Airport (MAX), which is nearly antipodal to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (meaning Santo-Pekoa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ouro Sogui Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Matam, Senegal.
- Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.