Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Medan, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,838 miles (or 15,832 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 Kualanamu 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 Kualanamu 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):

• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.

Facts about Kualanamu International Airport (KNO):

• Because of Kualanamu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Kualanamu 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 "Kualanamu International Airport", other names for KNO include "Kualanamu International Airport (Medan)" and "Bandar Udara Internasional Kualanamu".
• Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The first airline uses the airport as a regional hub is Mihin Lanka which route from Jakarta to Jeddah with transit at the airport.
• A soft opening started on July 25, 2013.
• The closest airport to Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) is Polonia International Airport (MES), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) WSW of KNO.
• The furthest airport from Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Kualanamu International Airport (meaning Kualanamu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,385 miles (19,931 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
• Airside facilities would be controlled by the Indonesian government, while landside facilities would be owned by a joint venture with PT Angkasa Pura II, which is expected to provide $350 million as an initial investment in return for a 30-year lease, after which ownership would revert to PT Angkasa Pura II.
• In May 2014 a groundbreaking to make double-track from Medan to the Airport has been done and it will cut time travel at least 10 minutes from current situation when it is ready in 2017.
• The airport opened on July 25, 2013, handling all flights and services shifted from Polonia International Airport.
• Polonia airport was the site of several crashes.