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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU), Fairfield, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,984 miles (or 8,022 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 Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield, 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 Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield. 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 Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• Shannon holds an important place in Ireland's aviation history as it was the first transatlantic gateway between Ireland and the US, and the birthplace of Duty-free shopping and of aviation leasing.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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 1947, the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport.
• The last quarter of 2012 saw a resurgence for Shannon, with new services announced for Philadelphia and Chicago, a return of Aer Lingus to JFK and Boston, and Delta to JFK, giving Shannon direct services to five US airports for 2013.
• Shannon continued to expand during the Celtic Tiger years with many services operated to the US and Canada.
• 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 Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU):

• Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield
• The base was renamed Travis Air Force Base in 1951 for Brigadier General Robert F.
• The furthest airport from Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,315 miles (18,210 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 1992, with the reorganization of the Air Force following the end of the Cold War, Military Airlift Command was inactivated and Travis came under the control of the newly established Air Mobility Command.
• The first unit to take up permanent residence at the airfield was a group of ten enlisted men and one officer from the 914th Quartermaster Division at Hamilton Field.
• In addition to being known as "Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield", another name for SUU is "Travis AFB".
• The closest airport to Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Nut Tree Airport (VCB), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of SUU.
• The demolition and reconstruction of Runway 21L-03R, as well as the construction of a new C-17 Assault Landing Zone, began on 4 February 2010 with completion expected sometime late in the fall of 2012.