JetSetAuthority

Route · Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America

GRU São Paulo ⇄ MAD Madrid

São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (Brazil) and Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (Spain): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance8,378 km5,206 mi4,524 nautical miles
GRU → MAD10 h 20 minestimated block time
MAD → GRU10 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change+4 hMadrid vs São Paulo, today
Great-circle route from São Paulo (GRU) to Madrid (MAD)GRUSão PauloMADMadrid
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

GRU → MAD

10 h 20 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 32° (NNE).

Leave São Paulo Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Madrid Sun 8 Nov, 00:20 local +1 day.

MAD → GRU

10 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 220° (SW).

Leave Madrid Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive São Paulo Sat 7 Nov, 16:50 local.

GRU-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 distance8,378 km · 5,206 mi · 4,524 nmi
Initial heading32° (NNE) from GRU; 220° (SW) from MAD
Farthest from the equator40.5°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip42% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

GRUAmerica/Sao_Paulo — UTC−3 now; UTC−3 all year (no daylight saving time)
MADEurope/Madrid — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceMadrid is 4 hours ahead of São Paulo today; +4 h in January and +5 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying GRU → MAD. Your body clock has to move 4 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 4 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

GRU São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International AirportSão Paulo, Brazil · longest runway 12,139 ft3,700 m MAD Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas AirportMadrid, Spain · longest runway 14,271 ft4,350 m

More routes from GRU and MAD

GRUGIG São Paulo – Rio de Janeiro 336 km209 mi · 1 h 25 min GRUEZE São Paulo – Buenos Aires 1,723 km1,070 mi · 3 h 10 min MIAGRU Miami – São Paulo 6,574 km4,085 mi · 8 h 25 min JFKGRU New York – São Paulo 7,664 km4,762 mi · 9 h 35 min GRULHR São Paulo – London 9,460 km5,878 mi · 11 h 30 min DXBGRU Dubai – São Paulo 12,217 km7,591 mi · 15 h 20 min MADBCN Madrid – Barcelona 483 km300 mi · 1 h 35 min CDGMAD Paris – Madrid 1,062 km660 mi · 2 h 20 min AMSMAD Amsterdam – Madrid 1,459 km906 mi · 2 h 45 min MIAMAD Miami – Madrid 7,106 km4,415 mi · 8 h 25 min MEXMAD Mexico City – Madrid 9,065 km5,633 mi · 10 h 30 min SCLMAD Santiago – Madrid 10,719 km6,661 mi · 12 h 50 min

Routes of a similar length

SEAICN Seattle – Seoul 8,373 km5,203 mi · 11 h 15 min IAHFRA Houston – Frankfurt 8,402 km5,221 mi · 9 h 55 min SYDICN Sydney – Seoul 8,343 km5,184 mi · 10 h 40 min JFKLOS New York – Lagos 8,444 km5,247 mi · 10 h 05 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).