Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Minsk, Belarus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Minsk National Airport (MSQ), Minsk, Belarus would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,028 miles (or 8,091 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 Minsk National 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 Minsk National 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 Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Minsk National Airport (MSQ):

• Because of Minsk National Airport's relatively low elevation of 669 feet, planes can take off or land at Minsk National 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.
• Minsk National Airport (MSQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2009 airport served 1,010,695 passengers out of which 682,000 were served by the national airline Belavia.
• The airport is located 42 km east of Minsk, and is linked with the city with a toll-free highway.
• In addition to being known as "Minsk National Airport", another name for MSQ is "Нацыянальны аэрапорт МінскНациональный аэропорт Минск".
• The closest airport to Minsk National Airport (MSQ) is Minsk-1 Airport (MHP), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) W of MSQ.
• The furthest airport from Minsk National Airport (MSQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,134 miles (17,918 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.