Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Ankang, Shaanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA), Ankang, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,455 miles (or 8,779 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 Shannon Airport and Ankang Wulipu 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 Shannon Airport and Ankang Wulipu 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 Shannon Airport (SNN):

• In December 2012, it was announced that Shannon Airport would separate from the Dublin Airport Authority, who still own Dublin and Cork airports.
• 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 (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 1936, the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1 km2 site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport.
• In 1966, Aer Lingus began service between Shannon and Chicago, with a stop in Montréal, Canada.
• With the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Aeroflot began to suffer, which was a big loss to the airport.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".

Facts about Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA):

• Because of Ankang Wulipu Airport's relatively low elevation of 860 feet, planes can take off or land at Ankang Wulipu 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 addition to being known as "Ankang Wulipu Airport", other names for AKA include "安康五里铺机场" and "Ānkāng Wǔlǐpù Jīchǎng".
• The airport was first built in 1938 for military use and expanded in 1945.
• Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Ankang Wulipu Airport (meaning Ankang Wulipu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,408 miles (19,968 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• The closest airport to Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) is Shennongjia Hongping Airport (HPG), which is located 111 miles (178 kilometers) SE of AKA.
• The airport has one runway that is 1,600 meters long and 30 meters wide, and a 1,200 square-meter terminal building.