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):

• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.
• 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.

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, former name Minsk-2, is the main international airport in Belarus, located 42 km to the east of the capital Minsk, geographically lying in the territory of Smalyavichy Raion, but administratively being subordinated to Kastrychnitski District of Minsk.
• 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.
• Minsk international airport is linked to the capital by the M2 motorway.
• In addition to being known as "Minsk National Airport", another name for MSQ is "Нацыянальны аэрапорт МінскНациональный аэропорт Минск".
• Minsk National Airport (MSQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located 42 km east of Minsk, and is linked with the city with a toll-free highway.