Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Béziers, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR), Béziers, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,378 miles (or 7,046 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 Béziers Cap d'Agde 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 Béziers Cap d'Agde 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):

• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• 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 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.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• 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 Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR):

• The closest airport to Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) is Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) ENE of BZR.
• Because of its comparatively short runway measuring 1,820 m × 30 m, the airport was unable to benefit from the growth of low-cost flights that had fuelled expansion at other airports in the region.
• The furthest airport from Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (meaning Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,402 miles (19,959 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport", another name for BZR is "Aéroport Béziers Cap d'Agde".
• Because of Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Béziers Cap d'Agde 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.