Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,204 miles (or 6,766 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 RAF Ascension, 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 RAF Ascension. 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.
• It has been hinted that a route to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol or Frankfurt Airport could commence in 2015.
• 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 1969, it was announced that a new government agency, Aer Rianta, would be given responsibility for Shannon Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• During the 1990s, the airport began to struggle.
• With the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Aeroflot began to suffer, which was a big loss to the airport.
• In 1966, Aer Lingus began service between Shannon and Chicago, with a stop in Montréal, Canada.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Ryanair increased services and passenger numbers at the airport through 2008.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• The NASA Tracking Station at Devil's Ashpit and the Cable & Wireless Earth Station at Donkey Plain were built in the "mid-sixties" for space operations and communications, including the latter's use for transmitting "microwave borne data via the Early Bird Satellite back to the NASA facility at Andover, Maine.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.