Nonstop flight route between Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilmington International Airport (ILM), Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,533 miles (or 5,685 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 Wilmington International 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 Wilmington International 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 Wilmington International Airport (ILM):

• The furthest airport from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,693 miles (18,818 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport began in 1927 as Bluethenthal Field, named for aviator Arthur Bluethenthal, the first Wilmingtonian to be killed in World War I.
• The airport was named Bluethenthal Field on Memorial Day, May 30, 1928, in honor of Arthur Bluethenthal, a former All American football player and decorated World War I pilot who was the first North Carolinian to die in the war.
• ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle.
• In addition to being known as "Wilmington International Airport", another name for ILM is "New Hanover County International Airport".
• In 2006, the FAA Airport Improvement Program awarded Wilmington International Airport $10,526,342.
• Wilmington International Airport (ILM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Wilmington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington International 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.
• Wilmington International Airport is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, North Carolina, in unincorporated Wrightsboro, Cape Fear Township, New Hanover County.
• The closest airport to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of ILM.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• 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.
• In 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• 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 continued to expand during the Celtic Tiger years with many services operated to the US and Canada.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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 closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.