Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and La Paz, Bolivia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and El Alto International Airport (LPB), La Paz, Bolivia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,581 miles (or 5,763 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 El Alto 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 El Alto 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 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.
• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
• 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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 El Alto International Airport (LPB):

• El Alto International Airport (LPB) has 2 runways.
• On 1 March 1997, the Government of Bolivia entered into a 25-year contract with Airport Group International to operate the three largest airports in Bolivia – El Alto Airport in La Paz, Jorge Wilstermann Airport in Cochabamba and Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz.
• In addition to being known as "El Alto International Airport", another name for LPB is "Aeropuerto Internacional El Alto".
• The closest airport to El Alto International Airport (LPB) is Apolo Airport (APB), which is located 118 miles (189 kilometers) N of LPB.
• Because of El Alto International Airport's high elevation of 13,325 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LPB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LPB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In 2006, SABSA invested nearly 2.3 million dollars in the reconstruciton of the main terminal.
• El Alto International Airport handled 833,212 passengers last year.
• The Bolivian air transport started in 1916, when the Military school of Aviation was formed in La Paz.
• The furthest airport from El Alto International Airport (LPB) is Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX), which is nearly antipodal to El Alto International Airport (meaning El Alto International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sanya Phoenix International Airport), and is located 12,236 miles (19,692 kilometers) away in Sanya, Hainan, China.