Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,457 miles (or 7,173 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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 addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In March 2013, the new company appointed Neil Pakey as its first CEO.
• When World War II ended, the airport was ready to be used by the many new post-war commercial airlines of Europe and North America.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 1980s saw a number of new airlines arrive 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.
• US Airways operated daily services to Philadelphia until 2008 using Boeing 757-200 aircraft.

Facts about George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, located on the airport grounds at 16600 JFK Boulevard, serves as the region's ARTCC.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• Terminal C was the third terminal to open at the airport following A and B in 1981.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• Terminal A was one of the original two terminals to open in 1969 and was designed by Goleman & Rolfe and George Pierce-Abel B.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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.
• The IAB, equipped with a Federal Inspection Facility and US Customs services, consolidated all international arrivals into one terminal.
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• On January 7, 2009, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 departing Bush Intercontinental was the first U.S.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".