Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Baghdad, Iraq:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Baghdad International Airport (SDA), Baghdad, Iraq would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,569 miles (or 10,571 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 Baghdad International 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 Baghdad International 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):

• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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 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 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.

Facts about Baghdad International Airport (SDA):

• In addition to being known as "Baghdad International Airport", other names for SDA include "مطار بغداد الدولي", "Matar Baġdād ad-Dowaly" and "BGW".
• Terminal C has been refreshed with three active gate areas for carriers operating from the airport.
• Baghdad International Airport (SDA) has 2 runways.
• Because of Baghdad International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Baghdad International 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.
• The furthest airport from Baghdad International Airport (SDA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,732 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Most of Baghdad's civil flights stopped in 1991, when the United Nations imposed restrictions on Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War.
• The closest airport to Baghdad International Airport (SDA) is Baghdad International Airport (BGW), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SDA.