Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Turku, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Turku Airport (TKU), Turku, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,605 miles (or 7,410 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 Turku 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 Turku 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Turku Airport (TKU):

• The furthest airport from Turku Airport (TKU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,047 miles (17,778 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Turku Airport was Finland's first civilian airport when it was built in Artukainen in 1935, but already in the 1920s there was a water airport on Ruissalo Island.
• Turku Airport (TKU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In vicinity of Airport there are two highways E63 that goes from Turku to Tampere and Jyväskylä, and E18 which goes from Naantali via the Turku Ring Road and from Turku to Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, Russia.
• Turku Airport handled 454,948 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Turku Airport (TKU) is Pori Airport (POR), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) NNW of TKU.
• Because of Turku Airport's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Turku 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.
• In addition to being known as "Turku Airport", another name for TKU is "Turun lentoasemaÅbo flygplats".