- Great circle
- 8,026 km
- 4,987 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 10h 28m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 54.2°N
- at 49% along
- One lap of Earth
- 20.0%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 81st longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Istanbul the path crosses Bulgaria, then Romania, then Serbia, then Hungary, then Austria, then Germany, then Belgium, then United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,070 km of open water, then Canada, then 542 km of open water, then the United States.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 54.2°N, 49% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 8,609 km. That is 583 km further, about 7% more, and roughly 43m of extra flying.
Leaving Istanbul the aircraft points north-west (309°); it arrives into New York heading south-west (230°). That is 78° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
JFK
John F. Kennedy
New York, United States · North America
40.6°N, 73.8°W
Istanbul to New York, asked and answered
- How far is Istanbul to New York?
- Istanbul to New York (IST to JFK) is 8,026 km, or 4,987 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Istanbul to New York?
- About 10h 28m 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 Istanbul to New York flight take?
- The great circle passes over Bulgaria, then Romania, then Serbia, then Hungary, then Austria, then Germany, then Belgium, then United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,070 km of open water, then Canada, then 542 km of open water, then the United States. It reaches 54.2°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.
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