Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Xianyang, Shaanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), Xianyang, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,349 miles (or 8,608 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 Xi'an Xianyang 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 Xi'an Xianyang 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):

• 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 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport.
• Shannon began to rebound in the late 1990s with the success of the Irish economy, the improving situation in Northern Ireland, and an influx of American tourists.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of 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.
• CityJet launched a twice-daily route to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2008 when Aer Lingus closed its London Heathrow flights.
• 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.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• 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.
• Ryanair increased services and passenger numbers at the airport through 2008.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".

Facts about Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY):

• The closest airport to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is Xi'an Xiguan Airport (SIA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) ESE of XIY.
• The airport is located within the administrative area of Xianyang city, which gives the airport its name.
• The furthest airport from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is La Unión Airport (LUI), which is nearly antipodal to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (meaning Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Unión Airport), and is located 12,412 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in La Unión, Honduras[disambiguation needed].
• In 2012, the airport handled 23,420,654 passengers, making it the busiest airport in northwest China and the 8th busiest nationwide.
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport handled 23,420,654 passengers last year.
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Xi'an Xianyang International Airport", other names for XIY include "西安咸阳国际机场" and "Xī'ān Xiányáng Guójì Jīchǎng".