Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Hagåtña, Guam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Guam International Airport (GUM), Hagåtña, Guam would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,010 miles (or 12,891 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 Guam 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 Guam 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):

• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• 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.

Facts about Guam International Airport (GUM):

• The closest airport to Guam International Airport (GUM) is Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NE of GUM.
• Japan Airlines opened a flight crew training center at GUM in October 2013.
• Guam International Airport (GUM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Guam International Airport (GUM) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Guam International Airport (meaning Guam International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,223 miles (19,671 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• Transit passengers are also inspected by the USCBP before being allowed to proceed to their connecting gate.
• Guam International Airport handled 2,807,205 passengers last year.
• The USCBP inspects all arriving passengers except nonstop flights from the States.
• Because of Guam International Airport's relatively low elevation of 297 feet, planes can take off or land at Guam 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.
• The airport was built by the Japanese Navy about 1943, calling the military airfield Guamu Dai Ni as part of their defense of the Marianas.
• In addition to being known as "Guam International Airport", another name for GUM is "Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport".