Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tirana, Albania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA), Tirana, Albania would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,179 miles (or 8,335 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 Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa, 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 Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa. 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.

Facts about Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA):

• Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa handled 1,665,331 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,599 miles (18,667 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa", another name for TIA is "Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza".
• Because of Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa 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.
• After the fall of communism political and social changes caused an increase in the number of airlines operating at the airport.
• On 10 April 2013 the CEO of Adria Airways, Mark Anžur, said the Slovenian national carrier was likely to open a base in the Albanian capital Tirana.
• Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The concession included the construction of a completely new passenger terminal and various infrastructure improvements, among them the construction of a new access road, new parking lots, and a bridge over the old airport access road.
• The closest airport to Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) is Ohrid Airport (OHD), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) ESE of TIA.