---
title: "Madrid to São Paulo (MAD → GRU): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Madrid to São Paulo is 8,378 km (5,206 mi) great circle, an estimated 10h 55m 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/mad-to-gru
---

MAD → GRU

# Madrid to São Paulo: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas to São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro is 8,378 km of great circle — 5,206 mi — and an estimated 10h 55m in the air. It crosses from Europe to South America.

**Great circle**
8,378 km
5,206 mi

**Estimated in the air**
10h 55m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
40.5°N
at 0% along

**One lap of Earth**
20.9%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 74th longest.

The Madrid to São Paulo route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Madrid the path crosses Spain, then 5,551 km of open water, then Brazil.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 40.5°N, 0% of the way along.

Holding a single compass bearing the whole way would cover almost exactly the same ground, so on this route the flat map and the globe agree.

Leaving Madrid the aircraft points south-west (220°); it arrives into São Paulo heading south-west (212°). That is 8° 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 1.19 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

MAD

## Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas

Madrid, Spain · Europe

40.5°N, 3.6°W

[MAD airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/mad) [Flights to Madrid →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/madrid)

To

GRU

## São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro

São Paulo, Brazil · South America

23.4°S, 46.5°W

[GRU airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/gru) [Flights to São Paulo →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/sao-paulo)

## Madrid to São Paulo, asked and answered

**How far is Madrid to São Paulo?**
Madrid to São Paulo (MAD to GRU) is 8,378 km, or 5,206 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Madrid to São Paulo?**
About 10h 55m 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 Madrid to São Paulo flight take?**
The great circle passes over Spain, then 5,551 km of open water, then Brazil. It reaches 40.5°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

[MAD → BOG Madrid to Bogotá 8,031 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-bog) [MAD → MEX Madrid to Mexico City 9,065 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-mex) [LHR → GRU London to São Paulo 9,460 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-gru) [MAD → EZE Madrid to Buenos Aires 10,087 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-eze) [MIA → GRU Miami to São Paulo 6,574 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mia-to-gru) [MAD → JFK Madrid to New York 5,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-jfk)

## 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/mad-to-gru for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt