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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF), Midland, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,626 miles (or 7,445 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 Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield, 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 Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield. 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 the late 1930s, transatlantic air traffic was dominated by flying boats, and a flying boat terminal was located at Foynes on the south side of the Shannon Estuary.
• 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.
• It has been hinted that a route to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol or Frankfurt Airport could commence in 2015.
• The 1980s saw a number of new airlines arrive at Shannon.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shannon Airport is one of Ireland's three primary airports, along with Dublin and Cork.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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 last quarter of 2012 saw a resurgence for Shannon, with new services announced for Philadelphia and Chicago, a return of Aer Lingus to JFK and Boston, and Delta to JFK, giving Shannon direct services to five US airports for 2013.
• 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.

Facts about Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF):

• Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) has 4 runways.
• Midland Army Air Field was home to the Army Air Forces Bombardier School, one of a dozen bombardier-training schools.
• Midland International Airport is a city-owned airport nine miles southwest of Midland, a city in Midland County, Texas, northeast of Odessa.
• The terminal building looked tired, and airport officials began planning for a replacement.
• The closest airport to Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of MAF.
• The furthest airport from Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,209 miles (18,038 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.