- Great circle
- 13,836 km
- 8,597 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 17h 42m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 33.9°S
- at 100% along
- One lap of Earth
- 34.5%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 12th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Houston the path crosses the United States, then Mexico, then 12,176 km of open water.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 33.9°S, 100% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 13,893 km. That is 57 km further, about 0% more, and roughly 4m of extra flying.
Leaving Houston the aircraft points south-west (247°); it arrives into Sydney heading west (254°). That is 7° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
IAH
George Bush Intercontinental
Houston, United States · North America
30.0°N, 95.3°W
SYD
Sydney Kingsford Smith
Sydney, Australia · Oceania
33.9°S, 151.2°E
Houston to Sydney, asked and answered
- How far is Houston to Sydney?
- Houston to Sydney (IAH to SYD) is 13,836 km, or 8,597 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Houston to Sydney?
- About 17h 42m 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 Houston to Sydney flight take?
- The great circle passes over the United States, then Mexico, then 12,176 km of open water. It reaches 33.9°S 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.
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