JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

DTW Detroit ⇄ AMS Amsterdam

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (United States) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,324 km3,929 mi3,414 nautical miles
DTW → AMS7 h 45 minestimated block time
AMS → DTW8 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change+5 hAmsterdam vs Detroit, today
Great-circle route from Detroit (DTW) to Amsterdam (AMS)DTWDetroitAMSAmsterdam
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

DTW → AMS

7 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 47° (NE).

Leave Detroit Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Amsterdam Sat 7 Nov, 23:45 local.

AMS → DTW

8 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 298° (WNW).

Leave Amsterdam Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Detroit Sat 7 Nov, 12:50 local.

DTW-bound flights are the slower direction by about 65 minutes in our estimate: the route runs mostly 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 distance6,324 km · 3,929 mi · 3,414 nmi
Initial heading47° (NE) from DTW; 298° (WNW) from AMS
Farthest from the equator57.3°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip32% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

DTWAmerica/Detroit — UTC−4 now; UTC−5 standard time, UTC−4 during daylight saving time
AMSEurope/Amsterdam — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceAmsterdam is 5 hours ahead of Detroit today.

Jet lag, flying DTW → AMS. Your body clock has to move 5 hours earlier, like an eastward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 5 days to fully adjust. Shifting earlier (as here) is usually the harder direction; morning daylight at the destination helps. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

DTW Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County AirportDetroit, United States · longest runway 12,003 ft3,659 m AMS Amsterdam Airport SchipholAmsterdam, Netherlands · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m

More routes from DTW and AMS

DTWCDG Detroit – Paris 6,359 km3,952 mi · 7 h 45 min 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 AMSNBO Amsterdam – Nairobi 6,677 km4,149 mi · 8 h 25 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

Routes of a similar length

JFKZRH New York – Zurich 6,310 km3,921 mi · 7 h 40 min YYZFRA Toronto – Frankfurt 6,344 km3,942 mi · 7 h 45 min ORDLHR Chicago – London 6,344 km3,942 mi · 7 h 45 min SYDSIN Sydney – Singapore 6,293 km3,911 mi · 8 h 30 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).