Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Varna, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR), Varna, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,449 miles (or 8,770 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo, 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo. 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 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.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• 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.

Facts about Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR):

• Because of Varna Airport Aksakovo's relatively low elevation of 230 feet, planes can take off or land at Varna Airport Aksakovo 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 "Varna Airport Aksakovo", another name for VAR is "Летище Варна Аксаково".
• Terminal 1 /closed/ at Varna Airport was built in 1972, and has been extended several times over the years.
• Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,224 miles (18,063 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• There are domestic and international flights to about 75 destinations in 29 countries, more than 65 Bulgarian and foreign airlines.
• From 15 October 2011 until 28 February 2012, Varna airport was closed for a reconstruction of the runway.
• The closest airport to Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) is Burgas Airport (BOJ), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) SSW of VAR.
• The parking of Varna Airport is located front of Terminal 1.
• Varna Airport Aksakovo handled 132,000 passengers last year.