Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Šiauliai, Lithuania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), Šiauliai, Lithuania would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,798 miles (or 7,721 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 Šiauliai 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 Šiauliai 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):

• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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 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.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.

Facts about Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ):

• Šiauliai is home to the NATO Baltic Air Policing forward deployment, providing airspace security for the three Baltic members of NATO.
• The airport was one of the largest military airports in the former Soviet Union.
• The furthest airport from Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ) is Kaunas International Airport (KUN), which is located 70 miles (112 kilometers) SSE of SQQ.
• Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Šiauliai International Airport", another name for SQQ is "Šiaulių tarptautinis oro uostas".
• Because of Šiauliai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 443 feet, planes can take off or land at Šiauliai 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.