Nonstop flight route between Milford Sound, New Zealand and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Milford Sound Airport (MFN), Milford Sound, New Zealand and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,864 miles (or 19,093 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 Milford Sound 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 Milford Sound 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 Milford Sound Airport (MFN):

• Because of Milford Sound Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Milford Sound 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.
• Milford Sound Airport (MFN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 1‘Taking Off-Pioneering Small Airlines Of New Zealand 1945-1970’ Published 2003 By Richard Waugh with Bruce Gavin, Peter Layne & Graeme McConnell, Pages 16–36
• The furthest airport from Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Milford Sound Airport (meaning Milford Sound Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,230 miles (19,682 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) ESE of MFN.
• Post war pilot Fred ‘Popeye’ Lucas was the next to land an aircraft in Milford.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• Delta Air Lines operated to Atlanta until 2007.
• 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.
• In 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.
• 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.
• Aer Arann launched services to 4 UK destinations in 2010 under the Aer Lingus Regional Banner.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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 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 1936, the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1 km2 site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport.