Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,807 miles (or 17,391 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
• Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
• Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• Terminal 3 – opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal, but is now owned by Melbourne Airport.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• The search for a replacement for Essendon commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess Melbourne's civil aviation needs.
• In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation, placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• The first major upgrades at the airport were carried out at the domestic terminals, with an expansion of the Ansett domestic terminal approved in 1989 and completed in 1991, adding a second pier added for use by smaller regional airlines.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• US Airways operated daily services to Philadelphia until 2008 using Boeing 757-200 aircraft.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• 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.
• In 1969, it was announced that a new government agency, Aer Rianta, would be given responsibility for Shannon Airport.
• In November 2013, Aer Lingus announced a new twice-weekly service from Shannon to Malaga.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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 Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• Ryanair increased services and passenger numbers at the airport through 2008.