Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Emmen, Lucerne, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML), Emmen, Lucerne, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,496 miles (or 7,236 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 Emmen Swiss Air Base, 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 Emmen Swiss Air Base. 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 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 Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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 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.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.

Facts about Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML):

• The closest airport to Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML) is Zurich Airport (ZRH), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NNE of EML.
• In addition to being known as "Emmen Swiss Air Base", another name for EML is "Flugplatzkommando Emmen".
• The furthest airport from Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Emmen Swiss Air Base (meaning Emmen Swiss Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,113 miles (19,495 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.