Nonstop flight route between Tirana, Albania and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA), Tirana, Albania and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,179 miles (or 8,335 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 Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa and Shaw Air Force Base, 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 Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa and Shaw Air Force Base. 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 Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA):

• Because of Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa 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.
• Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza was constructed in a period of two years, from 1955 to 1957.
• Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa handled 1,665,331 passengers last year.
• Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The concession included the construction of a completely new passenger terminal and various infrastructure improvements, among them the construction of a new access road, new parking lots, and a bridge over the old airport access road.
• In addition to being known as "Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa", another name for TIA is "Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza".
• The closest airport to Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) is Ohrid Airport (OHD), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) ESE of TIA.
• The furthest airport from Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,599 miles (18,667 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
• 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.