Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and General Santos City, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and General Santos International Airport (GES), General Santos City, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,205 miles (or 14,814 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 General Santos 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 General Santos 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):

• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• 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 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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 General Santos International Airport (GES):

• The furthest airport from General Santos International Airport (GES) is Itaituba Airport (ITB), which is nearly antipodal to General Santos International Airport (meaning General Santos International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Itaituba Airport), and is located 12,290 miles (19,779 kilometers) away in Itaituba, Pará, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "General Santos International Airport", another name for GES is "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Heneral SantosTugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Heneral SantosPangkalibutan nga Hulugpaan sang Heneral Santos".
• General Santos International Airport handled 611,274 passengers last year.
• Because of General Santos International Airport's relatively low elevation of 505 feet, planes can take off or land at General Santos 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.
• Philippine Airlines Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet 2
• Inaugurated on 6 July 1996 in time to serve the influx of visitors, athletes and participants coming in from different parts of the country who were taking part in the 42nd annual Palarong Pambansa that was held in South Cotabato, Sarangani Province and General Santos City area at that time.
• General Santos International Airport is an alternate international airport located in General Santos City, Philippines serving the greater area of SOCCSKSARGEN.
• Having a runway length of 3,227 meters and a runway width of 45 meters, General Santos International Airport has the country's third longest runway—to date—after Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu.
• General Santos International Airport (GES) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to General Santos International Airport (GES) is Allah Valley Airport (AAV), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) NW of GES.
• With the 48-hour shutdown of Davao International Airport on June 2–3, 2013 due to an accident involving a Cebu Pacific aircraft from Manila, General Santos International Airport handled most of the diverted flights from Davao for the stranded passengers going to and coming from Manila, Cebu, Zamboanga and Kalibo cities.