Nonstop flight route between Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sligo Airport (SXL), Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL), Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,750 miles (or 17,300 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 Sligo Airport and Illawarra Regional 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 Sligo Airport and Illawarra Regional 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 Sligo Airport (SXL):

• Sligo Airport (SXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Sligo Airport", another name for SXL is "Aerfort Shligigh".
• The Irish Government commissioned Value for Money Review of Exchequer Funding on the Regional Airports Programme recommended the ending of operational subvention to the airport and the ending of the PSO designation citing poor performance, growing operational costs and development of alternative transport connections to the region.
• Euroceltic were operating the Government of Ireland public service obligation subsidy scheme for the route to Dublin at the time.
• The furthest airport from Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Sligo Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Sligo 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 closest airport to Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of SXL.
• Sligo Airport is the home of Rescue 118, the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter which serves the north-west since 2004.

Facts about Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL):

• There is no control tower located at the airport and pilots must co-ordinate arrivals and departures using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, aided by an Aerodrome Frequency Response Unit, which notifies pilots that their transmissions have been received on the frequency and activates lighting systems as appropriate.
• The airport is home to a growing Light Aeronautics Industry Cluster, the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Australian Aerial Patrol, and a range of tourism related operations.
• Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) has 2 runways.
• As early as the 1920s, aviators had used fields in the Albion Park area for joy flights and demonstrations.
• In addition to being known as "Illawarra Regional Airport", another name for WOL is "Wollongong Airport".
• The furthest airport from Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to Illawarra Regional Airport (meaning Illawarra Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,162 miles (19,573 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Illawarra Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Illawarra Regional 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 closest airport to Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Camden Aerodrome (CDU), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) N of WOL.
• Despite the length of the runway being sufficient for operating large passenger jets such as the Boeing 737, the pavements are currently only suitable for aircraft with a Maximum Takeoff Weight not exceeding 25,000 kilograms.