---
title: "Delhi to San Francisco (DEL → SFO): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Delhi to San Francisco is 12,382 km (7,694 mi) great circle, an estimated 15h 53m in the air. The route, what it flies over, and why the short way is not the straight line on a map."
url: https://orbitflights.app/routes/del-to-sfo
---

DEL → SFO

# Delhi to San Francisco: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Indira Gandhi to San Francisco is 12,382 km of great circle — 7,694 mi — and an estimated 15h 53m in the air. It crosses from Asia to North America.

**Great circle**
12,382 km
7,694 mi

**Estimated in the air**
15h 53m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
75.6°N
at 54% along

**One lap of Earth**
30.9%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 23rd longest.

The Delhi to San Francisco route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Delhi the path crosses India, then China, then Kazakhstan, then Russia, then 1,703 km of open water, then the United States, then Canada, then the United States, then 1,981 km of open water, then the United States.

The great circle reaches 75.6°N, inside the Arctic circle — which is why the route looks like a detour over the top of the world on a flat map, and like the obvious line on a globe.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 14,961 km. That is 2,578 km further, about 21% more, and roughly 3h 12m of extra flying.

Leaving Delhi the aircraft points north (16°); it arrives into San Francisco heading south (162°). That is 145° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.

One economy seat on it is about 1.75 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

[DEL–SFO carbon footprint →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-carbon-calculator?from=DEL&to=SFO) [Map this route →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-route-map?r=DEL-SFO)

From

DEL

## Indira Gandhi

Delhi, India · Asia

28.6°N, 77.1°E

[DEL airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/del) [Flights to Delhi →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/delhi)

To

SFO

## San Francisco

San Francisco, United States · North America

37.6°N, 122.4°W

[SFO airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/sfo) [Flights to San Francisco →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/san-francisco)

## Delhi to San Francisco, asked and answered

**How far is Delhi to San Francisco?**
Delhi to San Francisco (DEL to SFO) is 12,382 km, or 7,694 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Delhi to San Francisco?**
About 15h 53m 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 Delhi to San Francisco flight take?**
The great circle passes over India, then China, then Kazakhstan, then Russia, then 1,703 km of open water, then the United States, then Canada, then the United States, then 1,981 km of open water, then the United States. It reaches 75.6°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 →](https://orbitflights.app/blog/great-circle-routes-explained)

## Flown this one?

Orbit logs it in two taps and draws the arc on your own globe, along with every other flight you can remember. Free for your first 15.

[Download now](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qwertybit.orbit)

## Nearby routes

[SFO → SIN San Francisco to Singapore 13,582 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-sin) [SFO → HKG San Francisco to Hong Kong 11,128 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-hkg) [BLR → SFO Bangalore to San Francisco 13,988 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/blr-to-sfo) [SFO → PVG San Francisco to Shanghai 9,877 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-pvg) [SFO → ICN San Francisco to Seoul 9,085 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-icn) [LHR → SFO London to San Francisco 8,616 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sfo)

## Further reading

[How many miles do you have to fly around the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/how-many-miles-to-fly-around-the-world) [What is on the exact opposite side of the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/opposite-side-of-the-world) [What's actually worth counting in a flight log](https://orbitflights.app/blog/what-is-worth-counting-in-a-flight-log)

---
Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/del-to-sfo for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt