Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Sligo Airport (SXL), Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,466 miles (or 5,578 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Sligo 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Sligo 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• Although Roanoke has never had international passenger service, in 2001, the Airport Commission was prepared to change the airport's name to Roanoke International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Roanoke Regional saw 685,000 passengers in 2007, with 71 percent on-time departures and 68 percent on-time arrivals.
• During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• Originally 5,900 feet in length, an expansion to lengthen Runway 6/24 was originally envisioned in the 1970s.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".

Facts about Sligo Airport (SXL):

• The furthest airport from Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Euroceltic were operating the Government of Ireland public service obligation subsidy scheme for the route to Dublin at the time.
• Because of Sligo Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Sligo 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.
• Sligo Airport (SXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sligo Airport is the home of Rescue 118, the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter which serves the north-west since 2004.
• Sligo Airport is located in Strandhill, County Sligo, 5 NM west of Sligo in Ireland.
• In addition to being known as "Sligo Airport", another name for SXL is "Aerfort Shligigh".
• In common with airports such as Gibraltar and Funchal, there is a lack of safety margin for under/overshoots as the peninsula upon which the airport is situated is less than 2 km long.
• Until the end of 2008 there was a connection with Manchester which was operated by Aer Arann.
• The closest airport to Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of SXL.