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ATH → IST

Athens to Istanbul: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Athens Eleftherios Venizelos to İstanbul is 553 km of great circle — 344 mi — and an estimated 1h 11m in the air. Both ends are in Europe.

Great circle
553 km
344 mi
Estimated in the air
1h 11m
block time
Furthest from equator
41.3°N
at 100% along
One lap of Earth
1.4%
of 40,075 km

Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 278th longest.

The Athens to Istanbul route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

What the aircraft actually flies over

From Athens the path crosses 311 km of open water, then Turkey, then 104 km of open water, then Turkey.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 41.3°N, 100% of the way along.

Holding a single compass bearing the whole way would cover almost exactly the same ground, so on this route the flat map and the globe agree.

The heading barely moves: north-east out of Athens, north-east into Istanbul. Over this distance the curve has too little room to bend the compass.

From

ATH

Athens Eleftherios Venizelos

Athens, Greece · Europe

37.9°N, 23.9°E

To

IST

İstanbul

Istanbul, Turkey · Europe

41.3°N, 28.7°E

Athens to Istanbul, asked and answered

How far is Athens to Istanbul?
Athens to Istanbul (ATH to IST) is 553 km, or 344 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
How long is the flight from Athens to Istanbul?
About 1h 11m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.
What route does a Athens to Istanbul flight take?
The great circle passes over 311 km of open water, then Turkey, then 104 km of open water, then Turkey. It reaches 41.3°N at its furthest from the equator.

Where these numbers come from

Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.

Why the shortest path is a curve →

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