Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,702 miles (or 5,957 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 Hickory Regional Airport and George Best Belfast City 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 Hickory Regional Airport and George Best Belfast City 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 Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):

• The Hickory Municipal Airport was first opened to aircraft traffic on May 17, 1940.
• Riverhawk Aviation, which was the airport's only FBO, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• In 2003, a new building was constructed to serve the general aviation community.
• Most recently, in 2005, Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines operated Bombardier CRJ200 Regional Jets on their direct service to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, before ceasing this service in the fall of the year.
• The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On August 2, 1941, Pennsylvania Central Airlines which later became Capital Airlines, brought the first scheduled air-carrier service to Hickory.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.

Facts about George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD):

• As the airport is adjacent to residential areas, the issue of noise pollution is a major one and a source of public debate.
• George Best Belfast City Airport handled 2,541,759 passengers last year.
• The airport is a major base for Flybe, which began operations at the airport in 1993 and is now the largest operator at Belfast City.
• In June 2012, BMI subsidiary Bmibaby ceased all routes from Belfast City, prior to its total cessation of operations, leading Flybe to increase schedule frequency on some routes.
• George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sydenham Airport was established by Shorts beside its Belfast factory at Sydenham, Belfast in 1937.
• Because of George Best Belfast City Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at George Best Belfast City 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 George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,843 miles (19,059 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Flexibus route 600 is the Belfast City Airlink service, from the terminal to the Belfast Europa Buscentre adjacent to the Europa Hotel and Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station.
• In addition to being known as "George Best Belfast City Airport", another name for BHD is "Belfast City Airport".
• The airport has recently applied for a complete removal of the limit on the seats it can sell – a key element of the 1997 planning agreement, which guards against over-expansion of an airport which is sited in a densely populated location.
• The closest airport to George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) is Belfast International Airport (BFS), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WNW of BHD.
• The airport is located on the A2, Sydenham by-pass road between Belfast and Holywood.