JetSetAuthority

Route · Europe to Asia and Africa

IST Istanbul ⇄ JNB Johannesburg

İstanbul Airport (Turkey) and O.R. Tambo International Airport (South Africa): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance7,496 km4,658 mi4,048 nautical miles
IST → JNB9 h 35 minestimated block time
JNB → IST9 h 35 minestimated block time
Clock change−1 hJohannesburg vs Istanbul, today
Great-circle route from Istanbul (IST) to Johannesburg (JNB)ISTIstanbulJNBJohannesburg
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 → JNB

9 h 35 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 180° (S).

Leave Istanbul Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Johannesburg Sat 7 Nov, 18:35 local.

JNB → IST

9 h 35 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 0° (N).

Leave Johannesburg Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Istanbul Sat 7 Nov, 20:35 local.

The two directions differ by 0 minutes in our estimate: this route runs mostly north–south, so the prevailing westerly winds make little difference. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance7,496 km · 4,658 mi · 4,048 nmi
Initial heading180° (S) from IST; 0° (N) from JNB
Farthest from the equator41.3°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip37% 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)
JNBAfrica/Johannesburg — UTC+2 now; UTC+2 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceJohannesburg is 1 hour behind Istanbul today.

Jet lag, flying IST → JNB. Your body clock has to move 1 hour later, like a westward 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

IST İstanbul AirportIstanbul, Turkey · longest runway 13,451 ft4,100 m JNB O.R. Tambo International AirportJohannesburg, South Africa · longest runway 14,495 ft4,418 m

More routes from IST and JNB

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 JNBDUR Johannesburg – Durban 478 km297 mi · 1 h 35 min JNBNBO Johannesburg – Nairobi 2,912 km1,810 mi · 4 h 20 min DXBJNB Dubai – Johannesburg 6,413 km3,985 mi · 8 h 25 min FRAJNB Frankfurt – Johannesburg 8,690 km5,400 mi · 10 h 50 min JNBSYD Johannesburg – Sydney 11,024 km6,850 mi · 12 h 35 min ATLJNB Atlanta – Johannesburg 13,583 km8,440 mi · 15 h 55 min

Routes of a similar length

DENLHR Denver – London 7,497 km4,658 mi · 9 h 05 min YVRNRT Vancouver – Tokyo 7,503 km4,662 mi · 10 h 20 min ATLGRU Atlanta – São Paulo 7,510 km4,667 mi · 9 h 25 min SYDBKK Sydney – Bangkok 7,515 km4,669 mi · 9 h 50 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).