Nonstop flight route between Bălţi, Moldova and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY), Bălţi, Moldova and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,259 miles (or 8,464 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 Bălți-Leadoveni 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 Bălți-Leadoveni 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 Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY):

• The Bălți International Airport is situated in the northern part of the former Bălţi County, on the land of the commune of Corlăteni in Râşcani district.
• As Moldova was experiencing economic crisis in the 1990s, the re-construction and modernization plans of the airport, as well as the whole aviation industry, were put on hold.
• Because of Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport's relatively low elevation of 758 feet, planes can take off or land at Bălți-Leadoveni 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.
• Bălți International Airport, also known as Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport is one of the two airports serving the city of Bălți, Moldova.
• According to the former plans, it was planned to build two terminals, one for passenger and another for cargo service, as well as one control tower.
• In addition to being known as "Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport", another name for BZY is "Aeroportul Internațional Leadoveni".
• The furthest airport from Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The geographic position of Bălţi International Airport is internationally important as well, as the next airports in Romania and Ukraine, and especially in Moldova are competitive and economically viable only because of credit subventions and strong state protectionism, and much less through normal economic factors.
• The closest airport to Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) is Iași International Airport (IAS), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of BZY.
• Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (BZY) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• 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 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.
• 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.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.