Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Andenes, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Andøya Airport, Andenes (ANX), Andenes, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,196 miles (or 6,753 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 Andøya Airport, Andenes, 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 Andøya Airport, Andenes. 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):

• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.

Facts about Andøya Airport, Andenes (ANX):

• It soon proved difficult to provide sufficient patronage to keep operations profitable.
• The closest airport to Andøya Airport, Andenes (ANX) is Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen (SKN), which is located 56 miles (91 kilometers) SSW of ANX.
• Andøya Airport, Andenes handled 48,254 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Andøya Airport, Andenes (ANX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,620 miles (17,092 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Andøya Airport, Andenes's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Andøya Airport, Andenes 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.
• In addition to being known as "Andøya Airport, Andenes", another name for ANX is "Andøya lufthavn, Andenes".
• Andøya Airport, Andenes (ANX) currently has only 1 runway.