JetSetAuthority

Route · Europe to Asia and Africa

IST Istanbul ⇄ DEL Delhi

İstanbul Airport (Turkey) and Indira Gandhi International Airport (India): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance4,567 km2,838 mi2,466 nautical miles
IST → DEL5 h 45 minestimated block time
DEL → IST6 h 45 minestimated block time
Clock change+2 h 30 minDelhi vs Istanbul, today
Great-circle route from Istanbul (IST) to Delhi (DEL)ISTIstanbulDELDelhi
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

IST → DEL

5 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 92° (E).

Leave Istanbul Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Delhi Sat 7 Nov, 18:15 local.

DEL → IST

6 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 301° (WNW).

Leave Delhi Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Istanbul Sat 7 Nov, 14:15 local.

IST-bound flights are the slower direction by about 60 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 distance4,567 km · 2,838 mi · 2,466 nmi
Initial heading92° (E) from IST; 301° (WNW) from DEL
Farthest from the equator41.3°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip23% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

ISTEurope/Istanbul — UTC+3 now; UTC+3 all year (no daylight saving time)
DELAsia/Kolkata — UTC+5:30 now; UTC+5:30 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceDelhi is 2 h 30 min ahead of Istanbul today.

Jet lag, flying IST → DEL. Your body clock has to move 2 h 30 min 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 3 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

IST İstanbul AirportIstanbul, Turkey · longest runway 13,451 ft4,100 m DEL Indira Gandhi International AirportDelhi, India · longest runway 14,534 ft4,430 m

More routes from IST and DEL

ISTADB Istanbul – Izmir 358 km222 mi · 1 h 30 min ATHIST Athens – Istanbul 553 km344 mi · 1 h 40 min FRAIST Frankfurt – Istanbul 1,837 km1,141 mi · 3 h DXBIST Dubai – Istanbul 3,030 km1,883 mi · 4 h 45 min JFKIST New York – Istanbul 8,026 km4,987 mi · 9 h 30 min LAXIST Los Angeles – Istanbul 11,002 km6,836 mi · 13 h 05 min DELKTM Delhi – Kathmandu 816 km507 mi · 1 h 55 min DELHYD Delhi – Hyderabad 1,267 km787 mi · 2 h 30 min DELBLR Delhi – Bengaluru 1,709 km1,062 mi · 3 h SINDEL Singapore – Delhi 4,159 km2,584 mi · 5 h 55 min CDGDEL Paris – Delhi 6,565 km4,080 mi · 7 h 55 min SYDDEL Sydney – Delhi 10,435 km6,484 mi · 13 h 20 min

Routes of a similar length

SYDDPS Sydney – Bali (Denpasar) 4,622 km2,872 mi · 6 h 35 min ICNSIN Seoul – Singapore 4,627 km2,875 mi · 6 h 25 min BNEDPS Brisbane – Bali (Denpasar) 4,488 km2,789 mi · 6 h 20 min HNLANC Honolulu – Anchorage 4,475 km2,781 mi · 6 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).