Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Astana, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Astana International Airport (TSE), Astana, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,321 miles (or 10,173 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 Astana 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 Astana 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 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.

Facts about Astana International Airport (TSE):

• In addition to being known as "Astana International Airport", other names for TSE include "Халықаралық Астана Әуежайы" and "Международный аэропорт Астана".
• The closest airport to Astana International Airport (TSE) is Sary-Arka Airport (KGF), which is located 124 miles (200 kilometers) SE of TSE.
• Astana International Airport (TSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Astana International Airport (TSE) is Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), which is located 10,898 miles (17,539 kilometers) away in Puerto Natales, Chile.
• Astana International Airport handled 2,303,143 passengers last year.
• The airport traces its history to 1931 when Astana's first airfield was constructed.