Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,340 miles (or 5,375 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 Norfolk 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 Norfolk 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):

• Shannon continued to expand during the Celtic Tiger years with many services operated to the US and Canada.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• When World War II ended, the airport was ready to be used by the many new post-war commercial airlines of Europe and North America.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In 1958, the Irish airline Aer Lingus began transatlantic service to the United States, using Lockheed Super Constellations for thrice-weekly service to New York City and Boston.
• 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 (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Norfolk International Airport (ORF):

• In 2012, Norfolk Airport served 3,299,728 total passengers, a 3.33 percent increase compared to the previous year, which saw a total passenger count of 3,193,388.
• Because of Norfolk International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk 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.
• General aviation services, or fixed based operations, are provided by Landmark Aviation with full-service facilities for maintaining and housing private and corporate aircraft.
• The closest airport to Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WNW of ORF.
• Norfolk International Airport (ORF) has 2 runways.
• Approximately 70 million pounds of air cargo are presently shipped in and out of Norfolk International Airport each year.
• As the troops returned from the war, the Army Air Corps returned the airport to the city's domain at the end of 1945, and commercial travel took off with two new airlines providing regular flights.
• The furthest airport from Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,769 miles (18,940 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 2013, Norfolk International Airport will recognize and celebrate its 75th anniversary of offering air travel services to passengers.