Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Saarbrücken, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Saarbrücken Airport (SCN), Saarbrücken, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,388 miles (or 7,063 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 Saarbrücken 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 Saarbrücken 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):

• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.

Facts about Saarbrücken Airport (SCN):

• Saarbrücken Airport (SCN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Saarbrücken Airport (SCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Saarbrücken Airport (meaning Saarbrücken Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,027 miles (19,355 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 2005, a record year, nearly 500,000 passengers used Saarbrücken Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Saarbrücken Airport", another name for SCN is "Flughafen Saarbrücken".
• The closest airport to Saarbrücken Airport (SCN) is Zweibrücken Airport (ZQW), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) E of SCN.
• The nearest other minor international airport is Zweibrücken Airport approx.
• The airport's suboptimal location meant winter flights were not possible and bad weather and poor flying conditions caused frequent problems.
• In 2006/2007, Saarbrücken Airport suffered difficulties caused by the opening of a former military airport, Zweibrücken Airport, just 40 km away.