Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Colombo, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,316 miles (or 14,993 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 Bandaranaike 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 Bandaranaike 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):

• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.

Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• Bandaranaike International Airport is equipped with 18 double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• The existing airport will be converted to a domestic and regional terminal when the new complex is ready.
• On 9 January 2012, an Airbus A380-800 operated by Emirates flight EK 413 from Sydney landed at Bandaranaike International Airport.
• In the early 1990s the position of the airport's runway was shifted northward and the old runway was made into a taxiway for departing and arriving aircraft.
• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• Because of Bandaranaike International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bandaranaike 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.
• A new split-level passenger terminal building which separates arrivals and departures vertically, a new pier with eight boarding gates and 14 passenger boarding bridges with a dedicated gate comprising two passenger boarding bridges for the operations of the new Airbus A380, will be included in the proposed new complex.
• It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.
• The furthest airport from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,614 miles (18,691 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• On 26 July, The Criminal Investigations Department of Sri Lanka police set up a new security system at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake to identify criminals.