Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Rockford, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), Rockford, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,617 miles (or 5,820 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 Chicago Rockford 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 Chicago Rockford 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In 1969, it was announced that a new government agency, Aer Rianta, would be given responsibility for Shannon Airport.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• CityJet launched a twice-daily route to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2008 when Aer Lingus closed its London Heathrow flights.
• 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 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD):

• The current terminal was built in 1987 in an effort to expand airline service in Rockford, but the common use of bus service to O'Hare International Airport kept most airlines away from Rockford.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL), which is located 30 miles (47 kilometers) N of RFD.
• Because of Chicago Rockford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 742 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Rockford 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.
• Located in between the two runways, the smaller south cargo apron is home to one of the two FBOs at the airport.
• Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) has 2 runways.
• RFD traces its history back to 1917, when Camp Grant was established during World War I as an U.S.