Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), Houston, Texas, United States and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,462 miles (or 7,180 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 David Wayne Hooks Memorial 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 David Wayne Hooks Memorial 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 David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH):

• The closest airport to David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) is George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of DWH.
• David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) has 3 runways.
• Until the 1980s, the airport was run and maintained by Hooks, and his wife Irma.
• The Airport started when Charles Hooks built a runway for his own personal use.
• The furthest airport from David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,969 miles (17,653 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 152 feet, planes can take off or land at David Wayne Hooks Memorial 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.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• During the 1990s, the airport began to struggle.
• 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.
• The longest runway in Ireland, at 3,199 metres, is located at Shannon.
• 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 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.
• With the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Aeroflot began to suffer, which was a big loss to the airport.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.