Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Mafeteng, Lesotho:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Mafeteng Airport (MFC), Mafeteng, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,103 miles (or 9,822 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 Mafeteng 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 Mafeteng 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 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.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 March 2013, the new company appointed Neil Pakey as its first CEO.
• With the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Aeroflot began to suffer, which was a big loss to the airport.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• 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.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• In 1966, Aer Lingus began service between Shannon and Chicago, with a stop in Montréal, Canada.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.

Facts about Mafeteng Airport (MFC):

• The furthest airport from Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,788 miles (18,971 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Mafeteng Airport (MFC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NE of MFC.
• Because of Mafeteng Airport's high elevation of 5,350 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MFC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MFC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.