Nonstop flight route between Port Alfred, South Africa and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Alfred Airport (AFD), Port Alfred, South Africa and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,338 miles (or 10,200 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 Port Alfred Airport and Shannon 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 Port Alfred Airport and Shannon 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 Port Alfred Airport (AFD):

• The closest airport to Port Alfred Airport (AFD) is East London Airport (ELS), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) ENE of AFD.
• Because of Port Alfred Airport's relatively low elevation of 272 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Alfred 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 Port Alfred Airport (AFD) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,563 miles (18,610 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Shannon Airport (SNN) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Shannon Airport (meaning Shannon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,015 miles (19,336 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Shannon Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Shannon 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.
• In the late 1930s, transatlantic air traffic was dominated by flying boats, and a flying boat terminal was located at Foynes on the south side of the Shannon Estuary.
• In 1958, the Irish airline Aer Lingus began transatlantic service to the United States, using Lockheed Super Constellations for thrice-weekly service to New York City and Boston.
• US Airways operated daily services to Philadelphia until 2008 using Boeing 757-200 aircraft.
• CityJet launched a twice-daily route to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2008 when Aer Lingus closed its London Heathrow flights.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• In 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.