Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 639 miles (or 1,028 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 relatively short distance between Shannon Airport and Maastricht Aachen Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• In December 2012, it was announced that Shannon Airport would separate from the Dublin Airport Authority, who still own Dublin and Cork airports.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The longest runway in Ireland, at 3,199 metres, is located at Shannon.
• 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.
• The first Air Services Agreement with the United States in 1945 only permitted flights to Shannon, and only permitted Irish airlines to serve Boston, Chicago, and New York.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• In 2011, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 7.4% from 1,755,885, to 1,625,549.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• The first passengers through the newly autonomous airport arrived on the Aer Lingus EI-110 flight from JFK at 5:08 am on 1 January 2013.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• The 1980s saw a number of new airlines arrive at Shannon.
• 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.

Facts about Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST):

• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• The international air traffic control area control centre for EUROCONTROL was built at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In March 2011, the airport was certified to handle the upcoming Boeing 747-8, as two of the airports major airlines Cargolux and AirBridge Cargo have placed orders for this aircraft.
• Plans for an airport in southern Limburg date back as far as 1919, with various locations being considered.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MST.
• Because of Maastricht Aachen Airport's relatively low elevation of 375 feet, planes can take off or land at Maastricht Aachen 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 1973 the airport was expanded again to handle bigger aircraft.
• On 14 May 1985, Pope John Paul II held an open air mass for 50,000 people at the airport, as part of his visit to the Netherlands.
• The first unit to be based at the field was the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, flying the F-6, a reconnaissance version of the P-51 Mustang.