Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Memphis, Tennessee, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,989 miles (or 6,419 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 Memphis 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 Memphis 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):

• In 1990, the US-Irish bilateral agreement was changed to allow Irish airlines to serve Los Angeles and additional US airlines to serve Dublin via Shannon.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 1936, the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1 km2 site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• In 1969, it was announced that a new government agency, Aer Rianta, would be given responsibility for Shannon Airport.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.

Facts about Memphis International Airport (MEM):

• Runway 9/27 reopened for traffic on November 30, 2009 after nine months of resurfacing.
• The 164th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard is based at the co-located Memphis Air National Guard Base, operating C-17 Globe master III transport aircraft.
• Southern Airways was an important regional carrier at Memphis in the 1960s.
• Because of Memphis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Memphis 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.
• Memphis International Airport (MEM) has 4 runways.
• Memphis International Airport is home to the FedEx Express global hub, which processes many of the company's packages.
• Memphis International Airport handled 7,874,888 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,010 miles (17,719 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Memphis International Airport (MEM) is Olive Branch Airport (OLV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ESE of MEM.