Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Medina, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED), Medina, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,802 miles (or 10,947 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 Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz 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 Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz 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):

• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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 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 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• 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.
• 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 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.

Facts about Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED):

• The furthest airport from Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (meaning Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,153 miles (19,559 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• On 16 March 2001, the airport was the scene of a bloody end to the hijacking of a Russian based Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 jet bound from Istanbul to Moscow carrying 162 passengers.
• The closest airport to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) is Yanbu International Airport (YNB), which is located 107 miles (172 kilometers) WSW of MED.
• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) has 2 runways.
• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport or Prince Mohammad Airport is a regional airport in Medina.
• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport handled 1,592,000 passengers last year.