Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,204 miles (or 6,766 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 RAF Ascension 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 RAF Ascension 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 RAF Ascension (ASI):

• RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• Wideawake Airfield was a US installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Aer Lingus announced on 15 June 2010 that it would be suspending services from Shannon to Boston and New York for 11 weeks from January 2011.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• Aer Arann launched services to 4 UK destinations in 2010 under the Aer Lingus Regional Banner.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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.
• In December 2012, it was announced that Shannon Airport would separate from the Dublin Airport Authority, who still own Dublin and Cork airports.
• In 1936, the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1 km2 site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport.