Nonstop flight route between Pago Pago, American Samoa and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,779 miles (or 10,909 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 Pago Pago 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 Pago Pago 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 Pago Pago International Airport (PPG):

• The closest airport to Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Ofu Airport (OFU), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) E of PPG.
• South Pacific jet services between Sydney, Auckland, Honolulu and Papeete were first offered by Pan American World Airways in 1964 using Boeing 707 aircraft.
• Runway 09/27 was the primary commercial runway for aircraft in the 1950s and early 1960s.
• Tasman Empire Airways Limited, or TEAL, the predecessor to what is now Air New Zealand, offered Douglas DC-6 flights from Nadi to Pago Pago and onwards to Tahiti in 1954 as part of its Coral Route Service.
• The furthest airport from Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Pago Pago International Airport (meaning Pago Pago International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,950 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) has 2 runways.
• Because of Pago Pago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Pago Pago 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 airport was a vital link to the Samoan Islands until the runway at Faleolo International Airport in Independent Samoa was improved and lengthened to handle larger than Boeing 737 type aircraft in 1984.
• Daily inter-island flights between the Samoas are offered by Inter Island Airways and Polynesian Airlines.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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.