Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sumter Airport (SUM), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,914 miles (or 15,955 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 Sumter Airport and Essendon 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 Sumter Airport and Essendon 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 Sumter Airport (SUM):

• The closest airport to Sumter Airport (SUM) is Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WSW of SUM.
• In addition to being known as "Sumter Airport", another name for SUM is "SMS".
• The furthest airport from Sumter Airport (SUM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,552 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Sumter Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles north of the central business district of Sumter, a city in Sumter County, South Carolina, United States.
• Because of Sumter Airport's relatively low elevation of 182 feet, planes can take off or land at Sumter 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.
• Sumter Airport covers an area of 429 acres at an elevation of 182 feet above mean sea level.
• Sumter Airport (SUM) has 2 runways.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• The furthest airport from Essendon Airport (MEB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Essendon Airport (meaning Essendon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• In 2007, the airport was re-designed under a new master plan, as part of the Essendon Fields development.
• The 1920s period saw the great pioneering aviation flights of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who visited the airport on several occasions.
• Because of Essendon Airport's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Essendon 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.
• The area of the airport was originally known as St Johns, after an early landowner.
• On 31 January 1945, a heavily-modified Stinson Model A registered VH-UYY and named Tokana, operated by Australian National Airways, departed from Essendon Airport for the daily flight to Kerang.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• In 1959 Cabinet approved the acquisition of 2,167 ha in Tullamarine for the purpose of a new international airport, which began construction in the 1960s and was ready to handle aircraft by 1967, but not passenger flights.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".