Nonstop flight route between Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Darwin International Airport (DRW), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,968 miles (or 16,042 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 Darwin 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 Darwin 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 Darwin International Airport (DRW):

• Between 1950 and 1974 Darwin Airport acted as the primary domestic and international airport for the Northern Territory and a very important stop for airlines flying between Australia, Asia and onwards to Europe.
• The furthest airport from Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,867 miles (19,099 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• In addition to being known as "Darwin International Airport", another name for DRW is "RAAF Base Darwin".
• Because of Darwin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 103 feet, planes can take off or land at Darwin 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 closest airport to Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Bathurst Island Airport (BRT), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of DRW.
• During 2008–09 financial year a total of 1,538,938 passengers passed through Darwin International Airport which consisted of 188,530 international passengers and 1,350,408 domestic passengers.
• In December 2010 the Federal Government approved the Darwin Airport Master Plan, a 20-year blueprint of how the airport will be affected by and manage issues such as aviation growth and the rise of Darwin Airport as an international transit point between Europe, Asia and Australia.
• The head office of Airnorth is on the airport property.
• Darwin International Airport handled 1,743,734 passengers last year.
• Darwin International Airport (DRW) has 2 runways.
• The new passenger terminal, with four aerobridges, was opened in December 1991.
• The airport is located in Darwin, Northern Territory's northern suburbs, 13 km from the Darwin city centre, in the suburb of Marrara.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.