How long is the flight from Milan to New York? And how many hours do you spend in the air on the way to the Maldives? The answer changes with the airport, date, routing, stops and even upper-level winds.
For the duration of a real journey, search the flight on the dates you intend to travel. To understand where that number comes from, start with distance and cruise speed, then add the factors that lengthen or shorten the route.
Enter origin, destination and dates in Google Flights or Skyscanner. Look at total duration, not the difference between local clock times. For connecting journeys, open the details to separate flight time from the layover.
How to calculate flying time with Google Flights
In Google Flights, enter the departure airport or city, destination and dates. You can filter the options by stops, airlines, bags, time of day and duration. Where a city has several airports, check exactly which ones are selected.
Duration appears next to every itinerary. A connection may leave at a convenient time yet take much longer, so compare total duration, number of stops and connection airport.
Opening a result reveals each segment. In the example, the first flight takes 8 hours 40 minutes, the wait in Philadelphia 2 hours 45 minutes, and the second flight 6 hours. Together they match the 17 hours 25 minutes shown for the journey.
If Google does not recognise the destination immediately, choose the exact airport from the list or map. A direct flight may not appear on a particular date; try nearby dates, include neighbouring airports or compare the result with a second search engine.
How to check flight duration with Skyscanner
Skyscanner also starts from cities, airports and dates. Select Direct flights when you only want nonstop services; leave it clear to compare connecting options too.
The results highlight Best, Cheapest and Fastest options. Journey duration is useful when time matters more than price, while the stop information names the connection airport.
Open an itinerary to see departure, arrival, each flight, the layover and total duration. The overall figure normally includes the time spent on the ground between flights.
To isolate time in the air, add the individual sectors and remove the layovers. If you start from the clock times instead, first convert them to the same time zone and check the applicable daylight-saving rules: arrival time is always shown in the destination's local time.
Checking delays and live flight status
Once you know the scheduled duration, it is worth checking how the service is running. Google Flights can display reliability information, but on the day of travel the airline is the primary source, followed by the airport website and tracking services such as FlightAware.
Use the airline, flight number and date for a precise search. Scheduled duration does not include a delay before departure, a wait at the gate or a diversion: those are operational events rather than flying time.
Calculating flight duration from distance
A manual estimate starts with three elements: great-circle distance, cruise speed and time for climb and descent. Environmental factors, particularly jet streams and headwinds or tailwinds, must then be added, while the assigned route almost never matches the shortest possible line.
To find the distance to use in your estimate, enter your starting point and destination in our straight-line distance calculator and use the direct distance shown.
The theoretical distance is the shortest arc across the Earth's surface. An airport distance calculator can measure it, but the operational route is longer because it follows airways, weather, available airspace and air-traffic-control instructions.
Duration ≈ distance ÷ 800–850 km/h + 30–60 minutes. This is only an estimate for a medium- or long-haul jet. Climb, descent and taxiing matter more on short routes; routing and winds matter more on long ones.
Example: Rome to New York
The great-circle distance is roughly 6,900 kilometres. Dividing by 820 km/h gives about 8 hours 25 minutes; adding an allowance for routing, climb and descent gives a rough estimate of around 9 hours 10 minutes. Published westbound schedules may be longer and eastbound returns shorter.
The advantage of the calculation is that it works for an unusual destination and lets you estimate how long a direct flight might take where today only connecting itineraries are sold. With a connection, calculate every sector separately, add the flight segments and then include all the time spent on the ground.
Use the formula to understand the order of magnitude. For connections and airport transfers, always use the schedule of the specific flight being sold.
How fast do airliners fly?
Speed changes through the journey. The aircraft accelerates for take-off, climbs, settles at an efficient cruise and slows during descent and approach. Airspeed also differs from groundspeed, which is affected by wind.
| Family | Indicative cruise | Common role |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737 MAX | about Mach 0.79 | Short and medium haul |
| Boeing 777 | about Mach 0.84 | Long haul |
| Boeing 787 | about Mach 0.85 | Long haul |
| Airbus A320 family | about Mach 0.78 | Short and medium haul |
| Airbus A330neo | about Mach 0.82 | Long haul |
| Airbus A350 | about Mach 0.85 | Long and ultra-long haul |
Airline fleets help explain the type of flight: Ryanair mainly uses Boeing 737s, easyJet the Airbus A320 family, while ITA Airways flies A220s and A320s on short and medium routes and A330s/A350s on long-haul services. The aircraft can change even after booking; the sales or seat-selection page normally shows the planned type. The guide to the best seats on a plane helps you read those cabin plans.
Knots, kilometres per hour and Mach
Aviation often uses knots: one knot is one nautical mile per hour, or 1.852 km/h. At altitude, Mach number is also common: it is the ratio of aircraft speed to the local speed of sound. Mach 0.85 is not always the same number of km/h because the speed of sound changes with temperature.
An aircraft is subsonic below Mach 1 and supersonic above it. A sonic boom comes from the system of shock waves generated during supersonic flight; it is not a single sound made only at the instant the aircraft crosses Mach 1.
The cloud becomes particularly clear at about 27 seconds.
This phenomenon is often associated with the Prandtl–Glauert singularity. The phrase “sound barrier” arose when early transonic aircraft encountered instability, severe vibration and control problems; there is no physical wall for an aircraft to hit.
Altitude, air density and wide-body aircraft
Airliners generally cruise between roughly 30,000 and 40,000 feet, high in the troposphere. Thinner air reduces drag, but altitude is selected mainly for efficiency, weather, weight and traffic: airlines use the advantage to burn less fuel rather than to chase maximum speed.
A wide-body has a broad fuselage, normally two aisles and a central seat block: the Boeing 777 and 787 and Airbus A330, A350 and A380 are common intercontinental examples.
Short-, medium-, long- and ultra-long-haul do not have one universal set of thresholds. A practical reading is:
- short haul: less than about 3 hours;
- medium haul: roughly 3 to 6–8 hours;
- long haul: roughly 6–8 to 12 hours;
- ultra-long haul: more than 12 hours.
For a quick calculation, an effective average of about 750–850 km/h is useful. It is lower than peak cruise because it also reflects climb, descent and the real route flown.
Take-off and landing
The estimate must also allow time to take off, climb, descend and land. Adding about 15 minutes for the opening phase and 15 for the final phase is an old but useful shortcut; it does not include taxiing or queues.
A Boeing 737 may lift off or fly its final approach at speeds in the region of 240–290 km/h, but there is no fixed number: weight, flap setting, runway, wind and temperature all change the required speed.
Jet streams: why the return can be faster
Jet streams are narrow bands of very strong winds high in the atmosphere, close to the tropopause. They develop along sharp temperature contrasts between air masses and generally flow west to east at mid-latitudes. The Earth's rotation and the Coriolis force help deflect and organise these large atmospheric currents.
When a route uses a jet stream, groundspeed rises and the flight saves time and fuel; in the opposite direction, dispatchers may choose a different track to avoid the strongest headwinds.
I have noticed it several times on the way back from New York: the flight to Europe can be considerably shorter than the outbound trip and sometimes more turbulent. The aircraft has not become faster through the air; the wind component and the assigned track have changed.
In January 2015, a British Airways Boeing 777 completed New York to London in 5 hours 16 minutes with help from the jet stream, reaching a groundspeed close to 1,200 km/h. It was not flying at Mach 1 through the air: a large part of that number came from the tailwind.
In winter, the temperature contrast between polar air and warmer air is often greater, so the polar jet can be stronger than in summer. West-to-east flight times may therefore change with the season, although the jet's position, the weather and the day's assigned route remain decisive.
A still faster case followed in February 2020, when a British Airways Boeing 747 completed New York–London in about 4 hours 56 minutes with the powerful winds around Storm Ciara. These are groundspeeds; they do not turn an ordinary subsonic jet into Concorde.
Flight duration for popular trips from Italy
These ranges preserve the comparison between Milan, Rome, outbound and return journeys. They are indicative times for a nonstop flight: availability changes with season, airport and airline, while a connection requires adding the full layover shown by the search engine. The two directions differ mainly because of jet streams and different operational routings.
| Destination | From Milan | To Milan | From Rome | To Rome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 8 h 45–9 h 30 | 7 h 45–8 h 45 | 9 h 30–10 h 15 | 8 h 15–9 h |
| Los Angeles | 12 h 45–13 h 45 | 11 h 30–12 h 45 | 12 h 30–13 h 30 | 11 h 30–12 h 30 |
| Miami | 10 h 30–11 h 30 | 9 h 15–10 h 15 | 10 h 45–11 h 45 | 9 h 30–10 h 30 |
| Maldives | 9 h 30–10 h 45 | 10 h 30–12 h | 9 h 30–11 h | 10–11 h 30 |
| Mauritius | 10 h 30–11 h 30 | 11 h 30–13 h | 10–11 h | 10 h 30–12 h |
| Kenya | 7–8 h 30 | 8–9 h 30 | 7–8 h 30 | 8–9 h |
| Rio de Janeiro | 12–13 h | 11–12 h | 11 h 30–12 h 30 | 11–12 h |
| Cuba | 10 h 30–12 h | 10–11 h | 10–11 h 30 | 9 h 30–11 h |
| Seychelles | 9 h 30–11 h | 10–11 h 30 | 9 h 30–11 h | 10–11 h 30 |
| Cancún | 11–12 h 30 | 10–11 h 30 | 11 h 30–13 h | 10 h 30–12 h |
| Dubai | 6–6 h 30 | 6 h 20–7 h | 5 h 30–6 h 15 | 5 h 50–6 h 30 |
| Zanzibar | 7 h 30–8 h 30 | 8–9 h | 7 h 30–8 h 30 | 8–9 h |
| Santo Domingo / La Romana | 10 h 30–11 h 30 | 9 h 30–10 h 30 | 10 h 30–12 h | 9 h 30–11 h |
| Cape Verde | 6–7 h | 5 h 30–6 h 30 | 6–7 h | 5 h 30–6 h 30 |
The world's longest commercial flight
Singapore Airlines' nonstop Singapore–New York service takes approximately 18 hours 25 minutes. Operated with the Airbus A350-900, it shows how aircraft range, cabin layout, crew and winds all matter on an ultra-long-haul route.
The record has changed several times. On 6 February 2017, a Qatar Airways Boeing 777-200LR left Doha for Auckland: about 14,535 kilometres with a scheduled duration close to 16 hours 20 minutes. The route crossed two hemispheres and took the record from Emirates' roughly 14,200-kilometre Dubai–Auckland service. Doha–Auckland was an important step in the rise of extremely long nonstop flights.
Supersonic aircraft: from Concorde to new demonstrators
Concorde began passenger service on 21 January 1976 and cruised at about Mach 2. New York–London or Paris crossings could take around three and a half hours. Fuel use, noise, maintenance and cost limited the aircraft, which retired in 2003; its history also includes the accident of 25 July 2000, in which 113 people died.
Supersonic passenger travel has not yet returned to scheduled service. The composite-built Boom XB-1 demonstrator passed Mach 1 in January 2025 and reached Mach 1.122; the proposed Overture passenger aircraft remains in development. A technology test is not the same thing as a flight travellers can book.
Frequently asked questions about flight duration
How is total flight duration calculated?
Total duration includes every airborne segment and, where applicable, the waiting time between connecting flights. Google Flights and Skyscanner show it directly; a manual estimate must add route, wind, taxi, climb and descent to distance divided by speed.
Can I subtract the departure time from the arrival time?
Not without correcting for time zones and daylight saving time. Departure and arrival use the local time at each airport, so the duration stated by the search engine or airline is safer.
Do Google Flights and Skyscanner include layover time?
Yes. Total itinerary duration normally includes the wait between flights; opening the details separates each flight segment from the connection time.
Why can the return flight be shorter?
Assigned routing, upper-air winds and especially jet streams can change groundspeed. Two flights between the same cities can therefore have different durations.
How fast does an airliner fly?
Many modern passenger jets cruise at about Mach 0.78 to 0.85. The value in kilometres per hour changes with altitude and temperature, while groundspeed also changes with the wind.
What is the longest commercial flight?
Singapore Airlines' nonstop Singapore–New York service takes approximately 18 hours 25 minutes and uses an Airbus A350-900 on an ultra-long-haul route.