Flight time calculator
Estimate flight duration between any two airports — based on great-circle distance and a typical commercial cruise speed.
Popular routes
How flight time is estimated
We compute the great-circle distance between the two airports, divide by an average commercial cruise speed and add 30 minutes of fixed time for taxi, takeoff, climb, descent, and landing.
flight time ≈ ( distance ÷ 850 km/h ) + 30 minutesThe 850 km/h figure is a working average for narrowbody and widebody aircraft on commercial routes. Long-haul widebodies often cruise at 870–900 km/h ground speed, while regional jets and turboprops sit closer to 700–800 km/h. The gap usually washes out across a typical schedule.
What's not included
Wind
Jet streams add or subtract up to 1–2 hours on transcontinental routes seasonally.
Air traffic control
Rerouting around weather or busy airspace can add 10–60 minutes on short-haul.
Holding patterns
At congested airports (LHR, JFK, ATL) destination delays can add unpredictable time.
Slot times
Some airports schedule arrivals to specific minutes, adding padding block time.
Frequently asked questions
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Within 5–15% of actual scheduled flight time for most routes. Eastbound flights with strong tailwinds can be ~30 min faster than the estimate; westbound headwinds make them ~30 min slower. We use 850 km/h as the average commercial cruise speed plus 30 minutes of taxi/takeoff/landing.
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Forecast winds at altitude vary by season, jet stream position, and route. A static 'with wind' calculation would be wrong for 11 months of the year. For accurate scheduled times check the airline directly.
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Close, but not exact. Block time is the time from gate-out to gate-in, which includes taxi time at both ends. Our estimate adds a fixed 30 minutes for that — real-world taxi can be 10 minutes at a small airport or 45+ at LHR/JFK during peak.
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Exact scheduled times require live airline data and depend on aircraft type, day of week, and seasonal winds. We give you a great-circle estimate that's accurate for trip planning. For booking, check the airline's published timetable.
Tip: Use our Explore Map to visualize routes and distances.
Explore Map