JetSetAuthority

Route · Africa

IAD Washington ⇄ ADD Addis Ababa

Washington Dulles International Airport (United States) and Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (Ethiopia): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance11,563 km7,185 mi6,244 nautical miles
IAD → ADD13 h 15 minestimated block time
ADD → IAD15 h 20 minestimated block time
Clock change+7 hAddis Ababa vs Washington, today
Great-circle route from Washington (IAD) to Addis Ababa (ADD)IADWashingtonADDAddis Ababa
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

IAD → ADD

13 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 66° (ENE).

Leave Washington Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Addis Ababa Sun 8 Nov, 07:15 local +1 day.

ADD → IAD

15 h 20 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 314° (NW).

Leave Addis Ababa Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Washington Sat 7 Nov, 17:20 local.

IAD-bound flights are the slower direction by about 125 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 distance11,563 km · 7,185 mi · 6,244 nmi
Initial heading66° (ENE) from IAD; 314° (NW) from ADD
Farthest from the equator44.8°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip58% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

IADAmerica/New_York — UTC−4 now; UTC−5 standard time, UTC−4 during daylight saving time
ADDAfrica/Addis_Ababa — UTC+3 now; UTC+3 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceAddis Ababa is 7 hours ahead of Washington today; +8 h in January and +7 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying IAD → ADD. Your body clock has to move 7 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 7 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

IAD Washington Dulles International AirportWashington, United States · longest runway 11,500 ft3,505 m ADD Addis Ababa Bole International AirportAddis Ababa, Ethiopia · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m

More routes from IAD and ADD

LAXIAD Los Angeles – Washington 3,674 km2,283 mi · 4 h 50 min SFOIAD San Francisco – Washington 3,883 km2,413 mi · 5 h IADLHR Washington – London 5,902 km3,667 mi · 7 h 15 min IADCDG Washington – Paris 6,198 km3,851 mi · 7 h 30 min IADFRA Washington – Frankfurt 6,550 km4,070 mi · 7 h 55 min NBOADD Nairobi – Addis Ababa 1,164 km723 mi · 2 h 20 min ADDDXB Addis Ababa – Dubai 2,519 km1,565 mi · 3 h 50 min JNBADD Johannesburg – Addis Ababa 4,068 km2,528 mi · 5 h 40 min LHRADD London – Addis Ababa 5,920 km3,678 mi · 7 h 30 min

Routes of a similar length

LAXBNE Los Angeles – Brisbane 11,533 km7,167 mi · 14 h 35 min ATLICN Atlanta – Seoul 11,487 km7,138 mi · 14 h 40 min DXBMEL Dubai – Melbourne 11,644 km7,235 mi · 13 h 50 min LAXHKG Los Angeles – Hong Kong 11,664 km7,248 mi · 15 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).