Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lausanne, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lausanne Airport (QLS), Lausanne, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,439 miles (or 7,143 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 Lausanne 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 Lausanne 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):

• 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.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.

Facts about Lausanne Airport (QLS):

• Lausanne Airport (QLS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lausanne Airport (QLS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lausanne Airport (meaning Lausanne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Lausanne Airport or Aéroport de Lausanne-Blécherette in French a small civil airport located in the north of Lausanne, Switzerland.
• The closest airport to Lausanne Airport (QLS) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of QLS.
• The airport features two maintenance hangars as well as a main building containing a restaurant.
• In addition to being known as "Lausanne Airport", another name for QLS is "Aéroport de Lausanne-Blécherette".