Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Abha Regional Airport (AHB), Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,241 miles (or 11,654 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Abha Regional Airport, 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Abha Regional Airport. 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 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.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.

Facts about Abha Regional Airport (AHB):

• The airport resides at an elevation of 6,858 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Abha Regional Airport (AHB) is Bisha Domestic Airport (BHH), which is located 121 miles (194 kilometers) N of AHB.
• The site was new construction area between the cities of Khamis Mushait and Abha and served both equally.
• The furthest airport from Abha Regional Airport (AHB) is Pukarua Airport (PUK), which is nearly antipodal to Abha Regional Airport (meaning Abha Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pukarua Airport), and is located 12,415 miles (19,980 kilometers) away in Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• Abha Regional Airport (AHB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The design was carried out by the Dutch Consultants NACO.
• Because of Abha Regional Airport's high elevation of 6,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AHB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AHB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Abha Regional Airport", another name for AHB is "مطار أبهـــا".