- Great circle
- 13,583 km
- 8,440 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 17h 23m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 33.6°N
- at 100% along
- One lap of Earth
- 33.9%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 16th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Johannesburg the path crosses South Africa, then Botswana, then Namibia, then 11,240 km of open water, then the United States.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 33.6°N, 100% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 13,645 km. That is 62 km further, about 0% more, and roughly 5m of extra flying.
Leaving Johannesburg the aircraft points north-west (295°); it arrives into Atlanta heading west (282°). That is 13° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
JNB
O.R. Tambo
Johannesburg, South Africa · Africa
26.1°S, 28.2°E
Johannesburg to Atlanta, asked and answered
- How far is Johannesburg to Atlanta?
- Johannesburg to Atlanta (JNB to ATL) is 13,583 km, or 8,440 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta?
- About 17h 23m 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 Johannesburg to Atlanta flight take?
- The great circle passes over South Africa, then Botswana, then Namibia, then 11,240 km of open water, then the United States. It reaches 33.6°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.
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