JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

JFK New York ⇄ BCN Barcelona

John F. Kennedy International Airport (United States) and Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (Spain): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,150 km3,822 mi3,321 nautical miles
JFK → BCN7 h 25 minestimated block time
BCN → JFK8 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change+5 hBarcelona vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Barcelona (BCN)JFKNew YorkBCNBarcelona
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

JFK → BCN

7 h 25 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 62° (ENE).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Barcelona Sat 7 Nov, 23:25 local.

BCN → JFK

8 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 297° (WNW).

Leave Barcelona Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 12:50 local.

JFK-bound flights are the slower direction by about 85 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 distance6,150 km · 3,822 mi · 3,321 nmi
Initial heading62° (ENE) from JFK; 297° (WNW) from BCN
Farthest from the equator47.8°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip31% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

JFKAmerica/New_York — UTC−4 now; UTC−5 standard time, UTC−4 during daylight saving time
BCNEurope/Madrid — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceBarcelona is 5 hours ahead of New York today.

Jet lag, flying JFK → BCN. 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

JFK John F. Kennedy International AirportNew York, United States · longest runway 14,511 ft4,423 m BCN Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat AirportBarcelona, Spain · longest runway 11,000 ft3,353 m

More routes from JFK and BCN

JFKBOS New York – Boston 300 km186 mi · 1 h 20 min JFKDEN New York – Denver 2,610 km1,622 mi · 4 h 20 min JFKLHR New York – London 5,540 km3,442 mi · 6 h 50 min JFKFCO New York – Rome 6,866 km4,267 mi · 8 h 10 min JFKNRT New York – Tokyo 10,830 km6,729 mi · 13 h 50 min SINJFK Singapore – New York 15,341 km9,532 mi · 18 h 30 min BCNPMI Barcelona – Palma de Mallorca 202 km125 mi · 1 h 15 min MADBCN Madrid – Barcelona 483 km300 mi · 1 h 35 min BCNFCO Barcelona – Rome 848 km527 mi · 1 h 55 min LGWBCN London – Barcelona 1,109 km689 mi · 2 h 20 min LHRBCN London – Barcelona 1,148 km713 mi · 2 h 20 min AMSBCN Amsterdam – Barcelona 1,241 km771 mi · 2 h 30 min

Routes of a similar length

HNLNRT Honolulu – Tokyo 6,136 km3,813 mi · 8 h 40 min FRADEL Frankfurt – Delhi 6,122 km3,804 mi · 7 h 25 min HNLHND Honolulu – Tokyo 6,191 km3,847 mi · 8 h 45 min IADCDG Washington – Paris 6,198 km3,851 mi · 7 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).