Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kathmandu, Nepal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), Kathmandu, Nepal would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,076 miles (or 12,997 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 Tribhuvan 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 Tribhuvan 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.
• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• 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.
• 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 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 Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM):

• The closest airport to Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Ramechhap Airport (RHP), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) ESE of KTM.
• Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,530 miles (18,556 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The airport is now again connected to Europe with service by Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, after a long gap without service to Europe when Royal Nepal ended their flights to Frankfurt and London in 2001.
• Tribhuvan International Airport handled 3,405,015 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Tribhuvan International Airport", another name for KTM is "त्रिभुवन अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल".
• The airport began as Gauchaur Airport, named after the area of Kathmandu where it was situated.
• Because of Tribhuvan International Airport's high elevation of 4,390 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KTM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KTM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.