---
title: "Johannesburg to Atlanta (JNB → ATL): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Johannesburg to Atlanta is 13,583 km (8,440 mi) great circle, an estimated 17h 23m 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/jnb-to-atl
---

JNB → ATL

# Johannesburg to Atlanta: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

O.R. Tambo to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta is 13,583 km of great circle — 8,440 mi — and an estimated 17h 23m in the air. It crosses from Africa to North America.

**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](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 16th longest.

The Johannesburg to Atlanta route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## 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.

One economy seat on it is about 1.92 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

JNB

## O.R. Tambo

Johannesburg, South Africa · Africa

26.1°S, 28.2°E

[JNB airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/jnb) [Flights to Johannesburg →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/johannesburg)

To

ATL

## Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta

Atlanta, United States · North America

33.6°N, 84.4°W

[ATL airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/atl)

## 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.

[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

[LHR → JNB London to Johannesburg 9,075 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jnb) [FRA → JNB Frankfurt to Johannesburg 8,690 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/fra-to-jnb) [IST → JNB Istanbul to Johannesburg 7,496 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/ist-to-jnb) [LHR → ATL London to Atlanta 6,761 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-atl) [DXB → JNB Dubai to Johannesburg 6,413 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/dxb-to-jnb) [JNB → MRU Johannesburg to Mauritius 3,066 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jnb-to-mru)

## 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)

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