Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Baku, Azerbaijan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD), Baku, Azerbaijan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,405 miles (or 10,309 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 Heydar Aliyev 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 Heydar Aliyev 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• 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 Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD):

• The airport is located 20 km northeast of the capital Baku and is linked to the city by two modern highways - Airport Highway and Zigh-Airport Highway.
• The furthest airport from Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,202 miles (18,028 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Heydar Aliyev International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Heydar Aliyev 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.
• In addition to being known as "Heydar Aliyev International Airport", another name for GYD is "Heydər Əliyev adına beynəlxalq hava limanı".
• The closest airport to Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) is Lankaran International Airport (LLK), which is located 135 miles (218 kilometers) SSW of GYD.
• Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) has 2 runways.
• The design and project management work was carried out by British company APM Ltd and the building and civil works for the project by the Turkish consortium, Burc/Enka.
• There is a direct express minibus route number 116 operating from the airport to Baku city centre.
• A new terminal in the Baku International Airport is under construction and will be commissioned in 2013.