Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Shafter, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,049 miles (or 8,125 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 Shafter 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 Shafter 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):

• The longest runway in Ireland, at 3,199 metres, is located at Shannon.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In December 2012, it was announced that Shannon Airport would separate from the Dublin Airport Authority, who still own Dublin and Cork airports.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• With the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Aeroflot began to suffer, which was a big loss to the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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 November 2012, Aer Lingus also confirmed a new three-times-weekly service to Faro, Portugal, operating from May to September with an Airbus A320, strengthening Shannon's summer-sun destinations.
• In 1966, Aer Lingus began service between Shannon and Chicago, with a stop in Montréal, Canada.

Facts about Shafter Airport (MIT):

• Lerdo Field, as the airport was initially known during World War II was first opened in June 1941 when the United States Army Air Corps dispatched a small garrison of airmen to open an airfield at Shafter.
• With the relative completion of construction in July 1942, the airfield was renamed Minter Field Army Airfield a member of the locally prominent Minter family.
• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• The Gossamer Condor piloted by Bryan Allen won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977 by completing a figure '8' course specified by the Royal Aeronautical Society at Minter Field.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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 closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".