---
title: "Sydney to Auckland (SYD → AKL): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Sydney to Auckland is 2,159 km (1,342 mi) great circle, an estimated 3h 11m 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/syd-to-akl
---

SYD → AKL

# Sydney to Auckland: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Sydney Kingsford Smith to Auckland is 2,159 km of great circle — 1,342 mi — and an estimated 3h 11m in the air. Both ends are in Oceania.

**Great circle**
2,159 km
1,342 mi

**Estimated in the air**
3h 11m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
37.0°S
at 100% along

**One lap of Earth**
5.4%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 191st longest.

The Sydney to Auckland route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Sydney the path crosses 2,121 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 37.0°S, 100% 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 Sydney the aircraft points east (106°); it arrives into Auckland heading east (92°). That is 14° 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 320 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

SYD

## Sydney Kingsford Smith

Sydney, Australia · Oceania

33.9°S, 151.2°E

[SYD airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/syd) [Flights to Sydney →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/sydney)

To

AKL

## Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand · Oceania

37.0°S, 174.8°E

[AKL airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/akl) [Flights to Auckland →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/auckland)

## Sydney to Auckland, asked and answered

**How far is Sydney to Auckland?**
Sydney to Auckland (SYD to AKL) is 2,159 km, or 1,342 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Sydney to Auckland?**
About 3h 11m 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 Sydney to Auckland flight take?**
The great circle passes over 2,121 km of open water. It reaches 37.0°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.

[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

[AKL → NAN Auckland to Nadi 2,156 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/akl-to-nan) [SYD → CHC Sydney to Christchurch 2,126 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/syd-to-chc) [BNE → AKL Brisbane to Auckland 2,295 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/bne-to-akl) [MEL → AKL Melbourne to Auckland 2,637 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mel-to-akl) [SYD → POM Sydney to Port Moresby 2,754 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/syd-to-pom) [SYD → ADL Sydney to Adelaide 1,164 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/syd-to-adl)

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