Nonstop flight route between Norfolk, Virginia, United States and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,342 miles (or 5,378 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 Naval Station Norfolk 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 Naval Station Norfolk 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 Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".
• Lighter-than-air operations, important for off-shore patrols during the war, ceased in 1924.
• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Important historical events were taking place on the air side of the station as well.
• The Hepburn Board had made recommendations to Congress earlier in the year that would also double the size and workload of the station.
• In June 1941, the personnel count at the Naval Station dramatically increased once again.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Hangars, a new dispensary, three runways, magazine areas, warehouses, barracks and docking areas were patterned after similar existing airfields.

Facts about Shannon Airport (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 addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• Delta Air Lines operated to Atlanta until 2007.
• When World War II ended, the airport was ready to be used by the many new post-war commercial airlines of Europe and North America.
• 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 is one of Ireland's three primary airports, along with Dublin and Cork.
• In 1958, the Irish airline Aer Lingus began transatlantic service to the United States, using Lockheed Super Constellations for thrice-weekly service to New York City and Boston.
• The last quarter of 2012 saw a resurgence for Shannon, with new services announced for Philadelphia and Chicago, a return of Aer Lingus to JFK and Boston, and Delta to JFK, giving Shannon direct services to five US airports for 2013.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.