Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Ovda, Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Ovda Airport (VDA), Ovda, Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,335 miles (or 10,195 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 Ovda 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 Ovda 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):

• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.

Facts about Ovda Airport (VDA):

• In 1988 a decision was made that international flights bringing tourists to Eilat would land at Ovda, instead of at Eilat.
• Ovda Airport handled 136,791 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Ovda Airport (VDA) is Yotvata Airfield (YOT), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of VDA.
• On January 1, 2009, the airport was closed to landing traffic during nighttime until further notice by the Ministry of Transport, due to the deteriorating condition of its runway.
• In addition to being known as "Ovda Airport", another name for VDA is "נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה עוֹבְדָה".
• Today, the airport sees regular scheduled domestic services operated by Israir, Arkia Israel Airlines, and El Al Israel Airlines as well as regular charter services from across Europe.
• Ovda Airport is a military and civilian airport in Israel, located in the south of the country, about 60 km north of the city of Eilat.
• The furthest airport from Ovda Airport (VDA) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,788 miles (18,970 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Ovda Airport (VDA) has 2 runways.