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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,457 miles (or 7,173 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• On March 31, 2014, Scandinavian Airlines announced that it will begin flights from Stavanger to Houston.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".
• Terminal C was the third terminal to open at the airport following A and B in 1981.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• Terminal D opened in 1990 as the International Arrivals Building and was later renamed the Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building.
• Terminal B was also one of the original two terminals of the airport to open in 1969 and was also designed by Goleman & Rolfe and George Pierce-Abel B.
• In 2011 Continental Airlines began service to Lagos.
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• On August 28, 1990, Continental Airlines agreed to build its maintenance center at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
• On July 11, 2013, Air China began nonstop flights from Houston to Beijing, China using a Boeing 777-300ER.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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".
• In 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.
• 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.
• Shannon holds an important place in Ireland's aviation history as it was the first transatlantic gateway between Ireland and the US, and the birthplace of Duty-free shopping and of aviation leasing.
• 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 continued to expand during the Celtic Tiger years with many services operated to the US and Canada.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• 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.