Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Akron, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO), Akron, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,243 miles (or 6,829 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 Colorado Plains Regional 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 Colorado Plains Regional 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 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ryanair increased services and passenger numbers at the airport through 2008.
• In 1969, it was announced that a new government agency, Aer Rianta, would be given responsibility for Shannon 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.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• 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.
• In 1990, the US-Irish bilateral agreement was changed to allow Irish airlines to serve Los Angeles and additional US airlines to serve Dublin via Shannon.
• In November 2013, Aer Lingus announced a new twice-weekly service from Shannon to Malaga.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.

Facts about Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO):

• The furthest airport from Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,818 miles (17,410 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Colorado Plains Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,714 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AKO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AKO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO) is Sidney Municipal Airport (SNY), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) N of AKO.
• Colorado Plains Regional Airport covers an area of 639 acres at an elevation of 4,714 feet above mean sea level.