Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Colombo, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,774 miles (or 9,293 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 Bandaranaike International 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 Bandaranaike International 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):

• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• It has been hinted that a route to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol or Frankfurt Airport could commence in 2015.
• 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 addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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 March 2013, the new company appointed Neil Pakey as its first CEO.
• In 2007, the European Union and the USA announced that an agreement had been reached on an open skies aviation policy.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• The number of international carriers rose sharply in succeeding years as Shannon became well known as the gateway between Europe and the Americas.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• During the 1990s, the airport began to struggle.

Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):

• The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
• The furthest airport from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,614 miles (18,691 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The second phase of the expansion project is being carried out with Japanese assistance and is expected to be completed by 2015.
• Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The second stage will involve the acquisition of 600 hectares of public land, the construction of a runway capable of accommodating new-generation airplanes, an aircraft repair and maintenance center, an arrival and a departure terminal, a shopping arcade, a cargo complex connected to the airport by rail and a multistory car park.
• The airport is used by Emirates as an alternative emergency airport for its Airbus A380 aircraft.
• As part of the airport development program, a passenger train service was launched between the Airport and Colombo Secretariat Station, in June 2010.
• Because of Bandaranaike International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bandaranaike International 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 "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
• Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
• On 7 November 1971 the first Boeing 747 landing took place, the Boeing 747-200B was operated by Condor was carrying German tourists from Frankfurt.
• It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.