Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,791 miles (or 10,929 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2, 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2. 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):

• 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.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• 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 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 Lingus announced on 15 June 2010 that it would be suspending services from Shannon to Boston and New York for 11 weeks from January 2011.
• It has been hinted that a route to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol or Frankfurt Airport could commence in 2015.
• 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".
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• The number of international carriers rose sharply in succeeding years as Shannon became well known as the gateway between Europe and the Americas.

Facts about Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO):

• The furthest airport from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Cabo Frio International Airport (CFB), which is nearly antipodal to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (meaning Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cabo Frio International Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Hachijojima Airport (HAC), which is located 583 miles (938 kilometers) N of IWO.
• A third Japanese airfield 24°47′37″N 141°19′29″E / 24.79361°N 141.32472°E / 24.79361.
• Today, the base is the only airfield on the island, operated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
• Central Field stayed in American hands until being turned over to the Japanese Government on 27 June 1968.