Sumter Airport
SMS · KSMS · Sumter, South Carolina · Sumter County · map
Sumter Airport is a public-use airport owned by the County of Sumter, 4 miles north of Sumter, South Carolina, 182 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 05/23, is 5,501 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 31 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 12,100 takeoffs and landings a year. About 22 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Sumter Airport?
Its FAA code is SMS, and its ICAO code is KSMS.
Where is Sumter Airport?
It is 4 miles north of Sumter, South Carolina, 182 feet above sea level.
How long is the longest runway at Sumter Airport?
The longest of its 2 runways, 05/23, is 5,501 feet long.
Does Sumter Airport have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Sumter Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Are there flight schools at Sumter Airport?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Sumter Aero Club INC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Sumter Airport?
5 pilot examiners and 6 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Sumter Airport…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA SMS · ICAO KSMS
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- County of Sumter
- Elevation
- 182 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- every day, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- On the chart
- Charlotte sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 7W
- In the FAA's files since
- February 1957
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/23 | 5,501 × 100 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
| 14/32 | 3,081 × 120 ft | Grass, good |
- Runway 05: PAPI, four lights on the left, right-hand traffic pattern, trees 79 ft high 2,373 ft from the end
- Runway 23: ILS with DME, PAPI, four lights on the left, omnidirectional approach lights (ODALS), trees 88 ft high 2,748 ft from the end
- Runway 14: trees 84 ft high 941 ft from the end
- Runway 32: right-hand traffic pattern, tree 95 ft high 1,369 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 122.7 | |
| Approach and departure | 125.4 | |
| Sms and aWOS-3 | 118.075 | |
| Columbia and center (remote transmitter) Low | 124.7 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3), by phone 803-469-6750.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Also here
- avionics, flight instruction, aircraft rental
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Woodward Field (20 nm northwest), Santee Cooper Regional (26 nm south), Hartsville Regional (27 nm northeast).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in South Carolina · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Aft 2000, activate runway end identifier lightss runway 05/23; medium-intensity runway lights runway 05/23 - the common traffic frequency. PAPI runway 05 and 23 oper continuously.
- Wildlife on and in the vicinity of airport with incr actvty dusk and dawn.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 21 |
| multi-engine | 5 |
| jets | 4 |
| helicopters | 1 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 12,100, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 353 |
| general aviation, travelling | 4,387 |
| general aviation, local | 7,260 |
| military | 100 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Sumter from the FAA register
31 aircraft are registered to owners in Sumter, South Carolina: 23 piston singles, 4 business jets, 3 piston twins, 1 weight-shift or powered parachute. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in South Carolina.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Sumter Aero Club INC 1 aircraft · Sumter
Repair stations in Sumter:
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
5 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 5 for private pilot, 4 for commercial and instrument, 2 for airline transport pilot, 4 for flight instructor, 2 for sport pilot, 2 for type ratings; 5 for airplanes, 2 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for gliders. Also nearby: 6 aviation medical examiners, 3 airworthiness representatives (maintenance).
- Franklin Robert Burbank private pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, commercial pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, gliders · Camden FBO · Camden, SC (20 nm) · (352) 223-2883 · [email protected]
- Joe Daniel Rogers private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, type ratings, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · FBO · Florence, SC (34 nm) · (843) 250-5111 · [email protected]
- William Porcher Dubose private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Hamilton-Owens Columbia Downtown Airport · Columbia, SC (38 nm) · (803) 256-3544 · [email protected]
- Timothy Wayne Mitchell private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, type ratings, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Lexington, SC (45 nm) · (803) 920-9859 · [email protected]
- Jeanette Renee Hibpshman private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes · Lexington County Airport, Terminal Building · Pelion, SC (46 nm) · (803) 298-9175 · [email protected]
All 14 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DAR-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 3 since 1982, 0 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Sumter 31 aircraft · 23 piston singles, 4 business jets, 3 piston twins
- Oew Aviation LLC 4 aircraft in town
- Sumter Aero Club INC 1 aircraft · flying club
- South Carolina Avionics Services, LLC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 3 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in South Carolina 1,035 since 1982 · 172 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in South Carolina 67 landing places
- South Carolina 3,113 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/SMS.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 27, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.