Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Cocos Islands, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), Cocos Islands, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,922 miles (or 17,577 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.

Facts about Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK):

• Cocos Island Airport is an airport serving the Cocos Islands, a territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean.
• In addition to being known as "Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport", other names for CCK include "Lapangan Terbang Pulu Koko" and "YPCC".
• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport handled 15,712 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is nearly antipodal to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (meaning Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corn Island International Airport), and is located 12,429 miles (20,003 kilometers) away in Corn Island, Nicaragua.
• Because of Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cocos (Keeling) Island 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.
• The airfield was built during World War II to support Allied aircraft in the war against Japan.
• Service including flight to Jakarta Airport are also planned.
• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has one runway, designated 15/33, with an asphalt surface measuring 2,441 m × 45 m and an elevation of 10 ft above sea level.
• The closest airport to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is located 612 miles (985 kilometers) E of CCK.