Nonstop flight route between Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Karratha Airport (KTA), Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,041 miles (or 17,768 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 Karratha 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 Karratha 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 Karratha Airport (KTA):

• Because of Karratha Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Karratha 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.
• Karratha Airport (KTA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Karratha Airport (KTA) is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA), which is nearly antipodal to Karratha Airport (meaning Karratha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport), and is located 12,263 miles (19,736 kilometers) away in The Valley, Anguilla.
• The closest airport to Karratha Airport (KTA) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) W of KTA.
• Karratha Airport handled 675,207 passengers last year.

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.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.