Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Mahé, Seychelles:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Seychelles International Airport (SEZ), Mahé, Seychelles would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,968 miles (or 14,433 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 Seychelles 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 Seychelles 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):

• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.
• 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 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.

Facts about Seychelles International Airport (SEZ):

• Because of Seychelles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Seychelles 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.
• Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Seychelles International Airport", another name for SEZ is "Aéroport International de Seychelles – Pointe Larue".
• In 1972 John Faulkner Taylor founded the first local aircraft company called Air Mahé, which operated a Piper PA-34 Seneca between Praslin, Fregate and Mahé Islands.
• The furthest airport from Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,024 miles (17,741 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) is Praslin Island Airport (PRI), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of SEZ.
• The airport has the head office of Air Seychelles.