Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Dammam, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and King Fahd International Airport (DMM), Dammam, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,140 miles (or 11,491 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 King Fahd 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 King Fahd 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):

• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• 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 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 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.
• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
• 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.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.

Facts about King Fahd International Airport (DMM):

• The total area of the car park is 176,752 m², distributed among three covered floors.
• King Fahd International Airport handled 7,000,000 passengers last year.
• The passenger terminal’s total area is 327,000 m².
• King Fahd International Airport (DMM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "King Fahd International Airport", other names for DMM include "Dammam Airport" and "مطار الملك فهد الدولي".
• Several sources, such as the Guinness World Record mention this airport as the largest in the world, with 780 square kilometers.
• The closest airport to King Fahd International Airport (DMM) is King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DMM.
• The furthest airport from King Fahd International Airport (DMM) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Fahd International Airport (meaning King Fahd International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,061 miles (19,411 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The airport is classified as Code E by ICAO which makes it designed to accommodate large aircraft such as Boeing 747-400 and A340-600.
• Because of King Fahd International Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at King Fahd 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.
• Tendering was announced to open in late 2010 for construction of a 5-star airport hotel.