Nonstop flight route between Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ashgabat International Airport (ASB), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,807 miles (or 10,955 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 Ashgabat International Airport and Shaw Air Force Base, 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 Ashgabat International Airport and Shaw Air Force Base. 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 Ashgabat International Airport (ASB):

• Because of Ashgabat International Airport's relatively low elevation of 692 feet, planes can take off or land at Ashgabat 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 airport, with its air traffic control tower and a 12,000-foot long precision approach runway, opened in 1994 and was named after the country's first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov.
• In addition to being known as "Ashgabat International Airport", another name for ASB is "Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy halkara aeroporty".
• Ashgabat International Airport, formerly known as Saparmurat Türkmenbaşy International Airport, is one of three international airports in Turkmenistan.
• In Soviet times, the airport was used exclusively for domestic flights.
• The airport includes passenger waiting rooms, service passport, customs, border control, a 24-hour reference service, VIP and CIP rooms, a business club, a ticket office, shops, bars, fast-food outlets, currency exchange, a new baggage handling conveyor system, international telephone, a mother and child room and the offices of the airlines.
• The furthest airport from Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,407 miles (18,357 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• As part of Saparmurat Niyazov's aspiration to transform Turkmenistan into 'the new Kuwait', he sought to construct a distinctive airport.
• Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) is Bojnord Airport (BJB), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) WSW of ASB.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• The furthest airport from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,545 miles (18,580 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.