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):

• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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 AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.

Facts about Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR):

• The airport resides at an elevation of 56 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) currently has only 1 runway.