Nonstop flight route between Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and Patuxent River, Maryland, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerry Airport (KIR), Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,267 miles (or 5,258 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 Kerry Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, 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 Kerry Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. 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 Kerry Airport (KIR):

• In addition to being known as "Kerry Airport", another name for KIR is "Aerfort Chiarraí".
• Car hire and taxi services are available at the airport.
• The following table shows international passenger numbers, also included are charter flights or unscheduled flights denoted by *.
• Kerry Airport (KIR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kerry Airport handled 272,799 passengers last year.
• In January 2011, it was announced that 20 of the airport's 65 staff would be made redundant due to a fall in passenger numbers following Ryanair's withdrawal from its PSO contract.
• Because of Kerry Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerry 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.
• Encouraged by the apparent success of other regional airports in Ireland, the board of directors drew up a development plan to lengthen and widen the runway to 1,200m x 30m and to extend and upgrade the Terminal Buildings and to install an Instrument Landing System and appropriate lighting.
• The furthest airport from Kerry Airport (KIR) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Kerry Airport (meaning Kerry Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,057 miles (19,403 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Kerry Airport (KIR) is Bantry Aerodrome (BYT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) S of KIR.

Facts about Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):

• The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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 closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• The onset of American involvement in World War II spurred establishment of the new air station.Rear Admiral John Henry Towers, Chief of Bureau of Aeronautics, requested approval and authorization to begin construction on December 22, 1941.
• The base was also was used as a filming location for the Harrison Ford film Random Hearts.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".