Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sumter Airport (SUM), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,206 miles (or 11,597 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 Beijing Capital 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 Sumter Airport and Beijing Capital 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 Sumter Airport (SUM):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sumter Airport", another name for SUM is "SMS".
• The closest airport to Sumter Airport (SUM) is Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WSW of SUM.
• Sumter Airport (SUM) has 2 runways.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• In late 1999, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, the airport was expanded again.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Terminal 3 consists of three sub-concourses, namely Terminal 3C, 3D, and 3E.
• Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital 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.
• Beijing Airport was opened on 2 March 1958.
• Fresh from hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and completion of its new terminal building, Beijing Capital has overtaken Tokyo Haneda to be the busiest airport in Asia based on scheduled seat capacity.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
• On 20 July 2013, a man in a wheelchair detonated small homemade explosives which exploded on Terminal 3 in the Beijing International Airport.
• To accommodate the growing traffic volume, Beijing Capital added the enormous Terminal 3 in 2008 in time for the Olympic Games, the second largest airport terminal in the world after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3, and the sixth largest building in the world by area.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".