Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Guangzhou, Guangdong, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), Guangzhou, Guangdong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,371 miles (or 13,472 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 Guangzhou Baiyun 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 Guangzhou Baiyun 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):

• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• 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 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at 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.

Facts about Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN):

• The furthest airport from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) is Gobernador Horacio Guzmán Internacional Airport (JUJ), which is nearly antipodal to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (meaning Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Horacio Guzmán Internacional Airport), and is located 12,314 miles (19,818 kilometers) away in San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) is Foshan Shadi Airport (FUO), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of CAN.
• In 2013, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport was China's second busiest and world's 16th busiest airport by passenger traffic, with 52,450,262 passengers handled.
• FedEx closed its 13-year-old Asia-Pacific hub at Subic Bay of northern Philippines on February 6, 2009 with the last flight leaving for Taiwan just before dawn, while hub operations have moved to Baiyun Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport", other names for CAN include "广州白云国际机场" and "Guǎngzhōu Báiyún Guójì Jīchǎng".
• In August 2008, the airport's expansion plan was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.
• Because of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Guangzhou Baiyun International 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.
• Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) has 2 runways.
• The hub has its own ramp control tower, a first for an international air express cargo company facility in China, which enables FedEx to control aircraft movements on the ground, aircraft parking plans as well as loading and unloading priorities.