Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Almaty, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Almaty International Airport (ALA), Almaty, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,909 miles (or 11,119 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 Almaty International 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 Almaty International 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):

• With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• The 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.

Facts about Almaty International Airport (ALA):

• In addition to being known as "Almaty International Airport", other names for ALA include "Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы" and "Международный Аэропорт Алматы".
• The furthest airport from Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,261 miles (18,123 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Manas International Airport (FRU), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) W of ALA.
• Almaty Airport is a hub for the national carrier Air Astana.
• On 9 July 1999 a fire started in the shashlik kitchen of the airport restaurant.
• Almaty International Airport (ALA) has 2 runways.