Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Porto, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), Porto, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,850 miles (or 6,196 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 Francisco Sá Carneiro 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 Francisco Sá Carneiro 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):

• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.

Facts about Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO):

• In addition to being known as "Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport", another name for OPO is "Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro".
• The furthest airport from Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) is Westport Airport (WSZ), which is nearly antipodal to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (meaning Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Westport Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Westport, New Zealand.
• Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport handled 6,050,094 passengers last year.
• Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of OPO.
• In 2007, the airport was voted the Best Airport in Europe in the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International.
• Because of Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Francisco Sá Carneiro 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.