Nonstop flight route between Hondo, Texas, United States and Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO), Hondo, Texas, United States and Sligo Airport (SXL), Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,620 miles (or 7,435 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 South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo and Sligo 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 South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo and Sligo 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 South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO):

• The airport has its origins in 1942 with the establishment by the Army Air Corps of Hondo Army Airfield, and was used as a Navigator training base.
• The closest airport to South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO) is Garner Field (UVA), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WSW of HDO.
• South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo covers an area of 3,500 acres at an elevation of 930 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo's relatively low elevation of 930 feet, planes can take off or land at South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo 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.
• Between 1945 and 1951 civilian operators such as the Hollaway flying school trained student pilots at the former base under the GI Bill.
• The furthest airport from South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,157 miles (17,955 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO) has 4 runways.
• For the 12-month period ending January 20, 2012, the airport had 95,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 260 per day.

Facts about Sligo Airport (SXL):

• Sligo Airport (SXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Until the end of 2008 there was a connection with Manchester which was operated by Aer Arann.
• In addition to being known as "Sligo Airport", another name for SXL is "Aerfort Shligigh".
• The closest airport to Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of SXL.
• Because of Sligo Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Sligo 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.
• Euroceltic were operating the Government of Ireland public service obligation subsidy scheme for the route to Dublin at the time.
• The Irish Government commissioned Value for Money Review of Exchequer Funding on the Regional Airports Programme recommended the ending of operational subvention to the airport and the ending of the PSO designation citing poor performance, growing operational costs and development of alternative transport connections to the region.
• In common with airports such as Gibraltar and Funchal, there is a lack of safety margin for under/overshoots as the peninsula upon which the airport is situated is less than 2 km long.