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):

• Upon activation at Shaw, the 20th FW assumed the personnel and equipment of the inactivated 363d Fighter Wing.
• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
• 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 Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David 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 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.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.

Facts about Almaty International Airport (ALA):

• Almaty International Airport (ALA) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• Almaty International Airport is the largest international airport in Kazakhstan.
• In addition to being known as "Almaty International Airport", other names for ALA include "Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы" and "Международный Аэропорт Алматы".
• On 30 September 2008 a second runway was opened with a first departure of a BMI flight bound for London Heathrow.
• 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.