Nonstop flight route between near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Flamingo International Airport (BON), near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,693 miles (or 2,725 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 relatively short distance between Flamingo International Airport and Shaw Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Flamingo International Airport (BON):

• Flamingo International Airport operates a Non-directional beacon on 321 KHz
• In addition to being known as "Flamingo International Airport", another name for BON is "Bonaire International Airport".
• The closest airport to Flamingo International Airport (BON) is Hato International Airport Curaçao International Airport (CUR), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) W of BON.
• Flamingo International Airport (BON) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Flamingo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Flamingo 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 furthest airport from Flamingo International Airport (BON) is Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport (MLG), which is nearly antipodal to Flamingo International Airport (meaning Flamingo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport), and is located 12,139 miles (19,535 kilometers) away in Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
• Since November 2005, visitors and tourists arrving at Bonaire are welcomed to a vibrant new Business and Tourism Showcase.
• The Flamingo Airport is large enough to accommodate most international wide-body airliners such as the Boeing 747, the Boeing 777, and the Airbus A340, although the largest wide-body type to operate to Bonaire today is the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, flown by KLM.
• KLM decided on May 9, 1936, to take the risk and fly the first flight to Bonaire from Curaçao.
• In 1970 the runway was extended to a length of 1750 meters and a width of 30 meters, enough for a DC9 to land and take-off with full load.
• Flamingo International Airport handled 462,897 passengers last year.
• Due to the introduction of this new system, Bonaire International Airport N.V.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.
• 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.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.