Nonstop flight route between Lakselv, Norway and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), Lakselv, Norway and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,370 miles (or 7,034 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL):

• Interest in Banak rose with the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and fears of Soviet intervention in Norway.
• Lakselv Airport, Banak is an international airport located at Banak, 1.5 kilometers north of Lakselv, in the municipality of Porsanger, Finnmark county, Norway.
• The furthest airport from Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,476 miles (16,859 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Lakselv Airport, Banak handled 71,763 passengers last year.
• Interest from military leaders for an airport at Banak returned in 1955.
• By 1959 the United States was concerned that the militarization of the Kola Peninsula would become the prime point of a Soviet attack on North America.
• Widerøe is the main airline operating at Banak, with daily flights to Alta and Tromsø using Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft.
• Because of Lakselv Airport, Banak's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakselv Airport, Banak 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL) is Alta Airport (ALF), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) W of LKL.
• In addition to being known as "Lakselv Airport, Banak", another name for LKL is "Lakselv lufthavn, Banak".

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• 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.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.