Nonstop flight route between Parakou, Benin and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Parakou Airport (PKO), Parakou, Benin and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,464 miles (or 8,793 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 Parakou 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 Parakou 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 Parakou Airport (PKO):

• The furthest airport from Parakou Airport (PKO) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Parakou Airport (meaning Parakou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,197 miles (19,629 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• In addition to being known as "Parakou Airport", another name for PKO is "Parakou Airport (Parakou)".
• The closest airport to Parakou Airport (PKO) is Djougou Airport (DJA), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of PKO.
• Parakou Airport (PKO) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.
• 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.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.