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 Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,843 miles (or 15,841 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 Polonia 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 Polonia 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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 Polonia International Airport (MES):

• The airport is now closed to commercial aviation and replaced by Kuala Namu International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
• In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
• Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia 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.
• The airport's last arrival is AirAsia from Bandung at 23:50 WIB.
• The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
• Polonia International Airport now belongs to the Indonesian Air Force and will be transformed into a military base.
• In 1879 the concession was handed over to Deli Maatschappij or NV Deli Maskapai.
• The airport located on 144 hectares land area.