Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Xiamen, Fujian, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN), Xiamen, Fujian, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,213 miles (or 13,218 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 Xiamen Gaoqi 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 Xiamen Gaoqi 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.

Facts about Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN):

• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport handled 17,354,076 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport", other names for XMN include "厦门高崎国际机场" and "Xiàmén Gāoqí Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is Kinmen Airport (Kinmen Shang Yi Airport) (KNH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ESE of XMN.
• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is Tartagal "General Enrique Mosconi" Airport (TTG), which is nearly antipodal to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (meaning Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tartagal "General Enrique Mosconi" Airport), and is located 12,257 miles (19,725 kilometers) away in Tartagal, Salta, Argentina.
• Because of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Xiamen Gaoqi International 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.