Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Hickory, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,607 miles (or 5,805 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 Hickory 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 Hickory 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):

• The first Air Services Agreement with the United States in 1945 only permitted flights to Shannon, and only permitted Irish airlines to serve Boston, Chicago, and New York.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In 1958, the Irish airline Aer Lingus began transatlantic service to the United States, using Lockheed Super Constellations for thrice-weekly service to New York City and Boston.
• 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.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• In December 2012, it was announced that Shannon Airport would separate from the Dublin Airport Authority, who still own Dublin and Cork airports.
• The 1980s saw a number of new airlines arrive at Shannon.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• The longest runway in Ireland, at 3,199 metres, is located at Shannon.
• 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.

Facts about Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):

• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• Atlantis Airlines was one small airline of this type, offering up to 6 daily direct flights to Charlotte and Atlanta.
• In 1960, the base of operations for the airport was moved from the south side of the field when the new terminal building was constructed.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• Riverhawk Aviation, which was the airport's only FBO, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Most recently, in 2005, Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines operated Bombardier CRJ200 Regional Jets on their direct service to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, before ceasing this service in the fall of the year.
• The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.