Route 1 JFK → LHR → DXB
6,872 mi · ≈ 14 h 50 min| Flight | mi | km | NM | Heading | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK → LHR New York → London | 3,452 | 5,555 | 2,999 | 51° NE | ≈ 7 h 25 min |
| LHR → DXB London → Dubai | 3,421 | 5,505 | 2,973 | 100° E | ≈ 7 h 25 min |
| Total | 6,872 | 11,060 | 5,972 | ≈ 14 h 50 min |
Flight distance calculator
Type airport codes (JFK-LHR) or search by city to get the great circle distance of each flight in miles, kilometers and nautical miles, with the heading and an estimated flight time. Chain stopovers and compare several routes on one map.
By the All Map Tools Team
Add an airport It’s added to the end of the last route. You can also tap airports on the map (smaller ones show up as you zoom in).
Example New York to London and Dubai, plus Los Angeles to Sydney. Type your routes or search for an airport to start.
Join codes with hyphens to chain flights (JFK-LHR-DXB) and separate routes with commas or new lines.
The constant-heading line (rhumb line): it looks straight on this map, but it’s longer than the curved route.
Loading the map…
2 routes · 3 flights
- Total distance
- 14,360mi
- 23,111 km · 12,479 NM
- Flight time
- ≈ 30 h 25 min
This is an estimate: 30 minutes per flight to taxi, take off, climb, descend and land, plus the distance at 800 km/h (497 mph), an airliner’s cruising speed. It doesn’t include wind or layovers.
Route 2 LAX → SYD
7,488 mi · ≈ 15 h 35 min| Flight | mi | km | NM | Heading | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX → SYD Los Angeles → Sydney (Mascot) | 7,488 | 12,051 | 6,507 | 241° WSW | ≈ 15 h 35 min |
Save or share the routes
How to use it
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Type your routes
Join airport codes with hyphens (JFK-LHR-DXB), one route per line or separated by commas. If you don’t know a code, search for the city or the airport name, or tap the airport on the map.
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Read the numbers
Each flight gets its distance in miles, kilometers and nautical miles, the initial heading and an estimated flight time, and each route gets its total. The grand total is at the top.
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Save or share it
Download the map as an image, the routes as KML or GeoJSON, the flights as CSV, or copy the link to send it.
What it’s for
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Frequent flyer miles
See how many miles each flight covers, airport to airport, to estimate what a trip earns or to check a mileage statement.
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Trips with layovers
Compare a nonstop flight with a connection: how many extra miles the layover adds and how much flying time.
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Maps of your flights
Draw your trips of the year or an airline’s network and download it as an image or as KML for Google Earth.
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Understanding the globe
See why a flight from Singapore to New York passes almost over the North Pole, on the flat map and on the globe.
How it’s calculated
The distance is the shortest path between the two airports over the Earth’s surface, what pilots call the great circle distance. It’s calculated on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the same one GPS uses, with GeographicLib, which is accurate to nanometers. Each airport is the reference point published by OurAirports.
The heading is the initial one, in degrees clockwise from north. On the shortest route it keeps changing along the way: the plane arrives on a different heading.
Distance
geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid
The inverse geodesic problem, solved with Karney’s method (2013). On a perfect sphere it would be up to 0.5% off.
Estimated flight time
t ≈ 30 min + distance ÷ 800 km/h
800 km/h is 497 mph or 432 knots. Rounded to 5 minutes; the 30 minutes cover taxiing, takeoff, climb, descent and landing.
Units
1 nautical mile = 1,852 m · 1 mile = 1,609.344 m
Aviation uses nautical miles (NM): one is roughly one minute of arc of latitude. 1 NM = 1.1508 miles.
| Airports (latitude, longitude) | JFK (40.6394, −73.7793) → LHR (51.4707, −0.4599) |
|---|---|
| Distance | 3,452 mi · 5,555 km · 2,999 NM |
| Initial heading | 51° (NE) |
| Heading on arrival | 108° (ESE) |
| Northernmost point of the route | 53.7° N |
| Straight line on a flat map | 3,588 mi (3.9% longer) |
| Estimated flight time | 7 h 25 min |
The plane leaves heading northeast and climbs to 53.7° N, farther north than both cities, to reach London heading east-southeast. That curve is the shortest path: the straight line on a flat map, on a fixed heading, is 3,588 mi.
Flight distances between well-known cities
Calculated with the tool between the main airport of each city. Tap “See on the map” to open the tool with that route.
| Route | Miles | Kilometers | Nautical miles | Estimated time | See on the map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK → LHR · New York – London | 3,452 | 5,555 | 2,999 | ≈ 7 h 25 min | See on the map |
| MAD → JFK · Madrid – New York | 3,588 | 5,775 | 3,118 | ≈ 7 h 45 min | See on the map |
| JFK → LAX · New York – Los Angeles | 2,475 | 3,983 | 2,151 | ≈ 5 h 30 min | See on the map |
| MAD → BOG · Madrid – Bogotá | 4,992 | 8,033 | 4,338 | ≈ 10 h 30 min | See on the map |
| MAD → MEX · Madrid – Mexico City | 5,642 | 9,080 | 4,903 | ≈ 11 h 50 min | See on the map |
| LHR → DXB · London – Dubai | 3,421 | 5,505 | 2,973 | ≈ 7 h 25 min | See on the map |
| HND → LAX · Tokyo – Los Angeles | 5,487 | 8,831 | 4,768 | ≈ 11 h 30 min | See on the map |
| LHR → SIN · London – Singapore | 6,765 | 10,888 | 5,879 | ≈ 14 h 5 min | See on the map |
| LAX → SYD · Los Angeles – Sydney | 7,488 | 12,051 | 6,507 | ≈ 15 h 35 min | See on the map |
| SIN → JFK · Singapore – New York | 9,537 | 15,349 | 8,288 | ≈ 19 h 40 min | See on the map |
The time is the tool’s estimate (30 minutes plus the distance at 800 km/h). Scheduled times change with the wind: eastbound flights are usually shorter.
Why the shortest route looks curved on the map
The Earth is round and maps are flat, so every map distorts something. This site’s map, like Google Maps, uses the Mercator projection, which stretches the north and the south. On it, the shortest route between two points (an arc of a great circle, one centered on the center of the Earth) bends toward the pole. Switch to the globe view and you’ll see what it really is: a straight arc over the sphere.
What looks straight on Mercator is a different line: the constant-heading line, or rhumb line, the one ships followed with a compass. It’s easier to steer but longer. Between New York and London it’s 3,588 mi, 3.9% longer; between London and Singapore, 7,056 mi versus 6,765 mi (4.3% longer). The farther north and the longer the flight, the bigger the gap: from Singapore to New York the shortest route reaches 87.5° N, almost over the North Pole, and the flat map’s straight line would be 21% longer.
Check “Compare with the straight line on a flat map” to see both at once. Routes across the Pacific, like Los Angeles to Sydney, cross the date line (the antimeridian, at 180° longitude): the map draws them in one piece, and the downloads split them right on that line, as GeoJSON and KML require.
Why planes don’t fly exactly that route
The great circle distance is the minimum, and it’s what schedules, airlines and regulations use to compare flights. Planes rarely follow it to the inch, for several reasons:
Wind. At cruising altitude, jet streams blow from west to east at over 90 mph, sometimes twice that. Eastbound flights ride them even if that means a detour, and westbound flights avoid them. That’s why the same trip takes different times each way: between New York and Europe the difference is often more than half an hour.
Airways and air traffic control. Planes fly set routes between waypoints, and over the North Atlantic they use tracks that are drawn every day according to the wind. They also go around airspace closed by conflicts and around bad weather.
Rules for twin-engine planes. A two-engine airliner must always stay within a set flying time of an airport where it could land if an engine failed (ETOPS rules), which can lengthen routes over oceans and the poles.
Even so, the distance actually flown is usually only a few percent longer than the great circle. For a specific day’s path, flight tracking services publish the real track.
Airport codes and the data behind them
IATA codes have 3 letters (JFK, LAX) and are the ones on tickets and bag tags. ICAO codes have 4 (KJFK, KLAX) and are used by pilots and air traffic control; the first letter tells the region, and in the lower 48 states it’s usually K plus the IATA code. The tool takes both.
Some cities also have a city code that groups their airports, like NYC for New York or LON for London. It doesn’t belong to any one airport, so it can’t be measured: if you type it, the tool suggests that city’s airports.
The data comes from OurAirports, an open, community-maintained database of the world’s airports that’s in the public domain. The tool has the 5,459 airports in 236 countries and territories that have an IATA code and are large or medium-sized or have scheduled service (data as of November 1, 2026).
Frequently asked questions
How far is it from New York to London by plane?
JFK and London Heathrow (LHR) are 3,452 mi (5,555 km) apart along the great circle, or 2,999 NM. With the tool’s rule, the flight takes about 7 h 25 min; eastbound it’s usually a bit shorter thanks to the jet stream, and westbound longer.
How far is Madrid from New York by air?
Madrid-Barajas (MAD) to New York JFK is 3,588 mi (5,775 km), or 3,118 NM, about 7 h 45 min of flying by the tool’s estimate. The route climbs to 46.3° N on the way, farther north than either city.
How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Sydney?
Los Angeles (LAX) and Sydney (SYD) are 7,488 mi (12,051 km) apart, so a nonstop flight takes about 15 h 35 min by the tool’s estimate. On the way it crosses the equator and the date line: leave in the evening and you land two calendar days later in Sydney.
Why does the Singapore to New York flight go over the Arctic?
Because that’s the shortest way. Singapore and New York are almost on opposite sides of the globe, and the great circle joining them climbs to 87.5° N: 9,537 mi (15,349 km) in all. The straight line on a flat map, heading west-northwest without going north, would be 11,511 mi.
Is this the distance the plane actually flies?
It’s the minimum distance between the two airports, along the great circle. The plane usually flies a few percent more, because it follows airways, rides or avoids the wind, and detours around closed airspace and storms.
Can I use it for an EU flight delay claim?
EU Regulation 261/2004 measures flights “by the great circle route method”, which is this distance. Up to 1,500 km the compensation is €250; from 1,500 to 3,500 km, €400; and over 3,500 km, €600, except flights within the EU, which stay at €400 from 1,500 km. Whether you’re owed it depends on more than distance (the delay, the cause, the airline), so check the EU’s passenger rights pages. For example, Madrid–Barcelona is 484 km and Madrid–New York, 5,775 km.
Can I type NYC, LON or PAR?
Those are city codes, not airport codes, so they can’t be measured. If you type one, the tool suggests that city’s airports (JFK, LaGuardia, Newark… for NYC) and you can swap the code with one tap.
What is a nautical mile and why does aviation use it?
It’s 1,852 meters (about 1.15 miles), roughly the distance between two parallels one minute of latitude apart, so on navigation charts it can be measured with the latitude scale. That’s why pilots and sailors use it. For example, Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles is 4,768 NM.
How is the flight time estimated?
With a simple rule: a fixed 30 minutes to taxi, take off, climb, descend and land, plus the distance at 800 km/h (497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed, rounded to 5 minutes. Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles comes out at about 11 h 30 min. It’s a ballpark, not a schedule: with a headwind or on a turboprop it takes longer.
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Sources
- OurAirports: airport data (airports.csv and countries.csv) · David Megginson and OurAirports contributors, public domain
- GeographicLib (distances and headings on the WGS84 ellipsoid) · Charles F. F. Karney (MIT license)
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 7: distances by the great circle route method · European Parliament and Council of the European Union (EUR-Lex)
- Base map · OpenFreeMap, with data © OpenStreetMap contributors