Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Zhangye, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY), Zhangye, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,503 miles (or 7,247 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 Zhangye Ganzhou 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 Zhangye Ganzhou 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):

• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Denain Airport was cleared of German forces by Allied ground forces about 11 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• 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.
• It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
• It is known that Denain was used by the Royal Air Force, as it was assigned ALG "B-74".

Facts about Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY):

• In addition to being known as "Zhangye Ganzhou Airport", other names for YZY include "张掖甘州机场" and "Zhāngyè Gānzhōu Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport (RHT), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of YZY.
• The furthest airport from Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is Pichoy Airport (ZAL), which is nearly antipodal to Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (meaning Zhangye Ganzhou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pichoy Airport), and is located 12,098 miles (19,470 kilometers) away in Valdivia, Chile.