Nonstop flight route between Montpellier, France and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), Montpellier, France and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,400 miles (or 7,080 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 Montpellier–Méditerranée 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 Montpellier–Méditerranée 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 Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL):

• The furthest airport from Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (meaning Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,410 miles (19,972 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL) is Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ENE of MPL.
• In addition to being known as "Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport", another name for MPL is "Aéroport de Montpellier–Méditerranée".
• Because of Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Montpellier–Méditerranée 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.
• Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL) has 2 runways.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.