JetSetAuthority

Route · Europe to Asia and Africa

AMS Amsterdam ⇄ NBO Nairobi

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands) and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Kenya): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,677 km4,149 mi3,606 nautical miles
AMS → NBO8 h 25 minestimated block time
NBO → AMS8 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change+2 hNairobi vs Amsterdam, today
Great-circle route from Amsterdam (AMS) to Nairobi (NBO)AMSAmsterdamNBONairobi
The shortest path over the Earth’s surface (great circle), drawn on a Natural Earth projection. Real flight paths bend around weather, winds and closed airspace.

Flight time each way

AMS → NBO

8 h 25 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 142° (SE).

Leave Amsterdam Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Nairobi Sat 7 Nov, 20:25 local.

NBO → AMS

8 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 338° (NNW).

Leave Nairobi Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Amsterdam Sat 7 Nov, 16:50 local.

AMS-bound flights are the slower direction by about 30 minutes in our estimate: the route runs partly east–west through latitudes where the prevailing westerly winds at cruise height are strong, so heading east rides a tailwind and heading west fights a headwind. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance6,677 km · 4,149 mi · 3,606 nmi
Initial heading142° (SE) from AMS; 338° (NNW) from NBO
Farthest from the equator52.3°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip33% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

AMSEurope/Amsterdam — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
NBOAfrica/Nairobi — UTC+3 now; UTC+3 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceNairobi is 2 hours ahead of Amsterdam today; +2 h in January and +1 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying AMS → NBO. Your body clock has to move 2 hours earlier, like an eastward trip. A shift this small rarely causes much jet lag; most people feel normal within a day or so. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

AMS Amsterdam Airport SchipholAmsterdam, Netherlands · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m NBO Jomo Kenyatta International AirportNairobi, Kenya · longest runway 13,507 ft4,117 m

More routes from AMS and NBO

LHRAMS London – Amsterdam 370 km230 mi · 1 h 25 min AMSBCN Amsterdam – Barcelona 1,241 km771 mi · 2 h 30 min AMSATH Amsterdam – Athens 2,182 km1,356 mi · 3 h 20 min DTWAMS Detroit – Amsterdam 6,324 km3,929 mi · 7 h 45 min SEAAMS Seattle – Amsterdam 7,840 km4,872 mi · 9 h 40 min AMSSIN Amsterdam – Singapore 10,514 km6,533 mi · 12 h 20 min NBOZNZ Nairobi – Zanzibar 602 km374 mi · 1 h 45 min NBOADD Nairobi – Addis Ababa 1,164 km723 mi · 2 h 20 min JNBNBO Johannesburg – Nairobi 2,912 km1,810 mi · 4 h 20 min LHRNBO London – Nairobi 6,841 km4,251 mi · 8 h 35 min

Routes of a similar length

ORDCDG Chicago – Paris 6,665 km4,141 mi · 8 h 05 min MIASCL Miami – Santiago 6,658 km4,137 mi · 8 h 35 min LHRDEL London – Delhi 6,731 km4,183 mi · 8 h 05 min LAXPPT Los Angeles – Papeete (Tahiti) 6,611 km4,108 mi · 8 h 40 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).