How long is my flight, really?
Airline timetables print departure and arrival in local time, so a flight that leaves Delhi at 10:15 and lands in London at 14:35 has not taken 4 h 20 min. This flight time calculator converts both times to UTC using each airport’s time zone, including daylight saving, and gives the real duration, the time difference between the cities and the average speed over the great-circle distance.
No timetable yet? Switch to Estimate from distance: pick the aircraft type or type a cruise speed, and the calculator estimates the flight time and the local arrival time at your destination.
How to use the Flight Time Calculator
- Type the departure and arrival airports as IATA codes (DEL, LHR, JFK) or city names; the hint shows the airport and its time zone.
- Enter the departure date and local time from your ticket.
- Enter the arrival date and local time — remember that overnight flights land on the next day.
- Read the duration, the time difference and the same flight in UTC.
- Or choose Estimate from distance, select an aircraft type or a custom speed, and read the estimated duration and arrival time.
Flight Time Calculator features
Time-zone correct
Every local time is converted with the IANA zone of its airport, so daylight-saving changes on the travel date are handled.
Day changes shown
Arrival the next day, the same day or even “earlier” on the clock after crossing the date line.
Flight time by aircraft type
Typical cruise speeds for wide-body and narrow-body jets, regional jets and turboprops, or your own speed.
Distance and average speed
Great-circle distance between the airports and the gate-to-gate average speed.
About 1,860 airports
Busy international hubs, every major Indian airport and the main airports of most countries.
How the flight time calculator handles time zones
Duration = arrival time in UTC − departure time in UTC. Delhi is UTC+5:30 all year, so a 10:15 departure is 04:45 UTC. On 2 November 2026 London is on GMT (UTC+0) again, so a 14:35 arrival is 14:35 UTC: the flight takes 9 h 50 min, and London is 5 h 30 min behind Delhi. Between late March and late October, London is on BST (UTC+1) and the same clock times would mean a flight one hour shorter.
Daylight saving can change during the flight. New York 20:00 on 28 March 2026 (EDT, UTC−4) to London 08:00 on 29 March is 7 h, because UK clocks went forward at 01:00 UTC that night. Crossing the date line eastbound, Sydney 10:00 to Los Angeles 06:00 on the same date is a 15-hour flight that lands four hours “earlier” on the clock.
Flight time calculator with speed and aircraft type
The estimate is distance ÷ cruise speed + a fixed allowance for taxiing, climb and descent (30 minutes by default). Cruise speeds are approximate: a jet’s Mach number × about 1,062 km/h, the speed of sound at 35,000 ft in the standard atmosphere.
| Aircraft | Typical cruise | Delhi–London (6,731 km) |
|---|---|---|
| Wide-body jet (A350, 787, 777) | Mach 0.85 ≈ 900 km/h | ≈ 7 h 59 min |
| Narrow-body jet (A320, 737) | Mach 0.78 ≈ 830 km/h | ≈ 8 h 37 min (beyond most narrow-body ranges) |
| Regional jet | Mach 0.75 ≈ 800 km/h | Out of range |
| Turboprop (ATR 72, Q400) | ≈ 510 km/h | Out of range |
Why real flights take longer than the estimate
- Winds: the jet stream can add or remove an hour on transatlantic and transpacific routes, so eastbound flights are often faster.
- Routing: airways, closed airspace and oceanic tracks make the flown distance longer than the great circle.
- Block time: schedules run gate to gate, with buffers for queues at busy hubs.
- The great-circle arc itself is drawn on the great circle route map; check a connection with the layover calculator and plan sleep with the jet lag planner.
Flight Time Calculator FAQ
How do I calculate flight time with different time zones?
Convert the departure and arrival local times to UTC with each airport’s offset on that date, then subtract. This flight time calculator does it automatically, including daylight saving.
Why does my flight seem to arrive before it leaves?
Flying east across the International Date Line, or west across many zones on a short flight, can make the local arrival clock time earlier than the departure time. The real duration is still positive.
How is flight time estimated from distance?
Great-circle distance ÷ cruise speed + about 30 minutes for taxi, climb and descent. It ignores winds, so expect real schedules to differ by 5–15%.
Does it handle daylight saving time?
Yes. Each time is converted with its airport’s IANA time zone for that exact date, so a change during the flight is counted correctly.
Can I calculate a trip with a stop?
Enter each leg separately, then add the legs and the connection time.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The airport list and all calculations are in the page.