Nonstop flight route between Dakhla, Western Sahara and Shannon (County Clare), Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dakhla Airport (VIL), Dakhla, Western Sahara and Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,036 miles (or 3,277 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 relatively short distance between Dakhla Airport and Shannon Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Dakhla Airport (VIL):

• Dakhla Airport handled 4,206 passengers last year.
• During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command as a stopover for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel on the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel.
• Because of Dakhla Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Dakhla 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 addition to being known as "Dakhla Airport", another name for VIL is "GMMH/GSVO".
• The closest airport to Dakhla Airport (VIL) is Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB), which is located 205 miles (330 kilometers) SSW of VIL.
• Dakhla Airport (VIL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Dakhla Airport (VIL) is Tontouta International Airport (NOU), which is nearly antipodal to Dakhla Airport (meaning Dakhla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tontouta International Airport), and is located 12,256 miles (19,725 kilometers) away in Noumea, New Caledonia.

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• 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.
• 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.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• During the 1990s, the airport began to struggle.
• 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.
• The first Air Services Agreement with the United States in 1945 only permitted flights to Shannon, and only permitted Irish airlines to serve Boston, Chicago, and New York.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon 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.