Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Atka, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Atka Airport (AKB), Atka, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,552 miles (or 7,326 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 Atka 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 Atka 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.

Facts about Atka Airport (AKB):

• Because of Atka Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Atka 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 closest airport to Atka Airport (AKB) is Adak Airport (ADK), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) WSW of AKB.
• In addition to being known as "Atka Airport", another name for AKB is "AKA".
• The furthest airport from Atka Airport (AKB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 11,025 miles (17,743 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Atka Airport (AKB) currently has only 1 runway.