JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

JFK New York ⇄ FCO Rome

John F. Kennedy International Airport (United States) and Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (Italy): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,866 km4,267 mi3,708 nautical miles
JFK → FCO8 h 10 minestimated block time
FCO → JFK9 h 40 minestimated block time
Clock change+5 hRome vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Rome (FCO)JFKNew YorkFCORome
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 → FCO

8 h 10 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 58° (ENE).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Rome Sun 8 Nov, 00:10 local +1 day.

FCO → JFK

9 h 40 min

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

Leave Rome Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 13:40 local.

JFK-bound flights are the slower direction by about 90 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 distance6,866 km · 4,267 mi · 3,708 nmi
Initial heading58° (ENE) from JFK; 301° (WNW) from FCO
Farthest from the equator50.2°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip34% 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
FCOEurope/Rome — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceRome is 5 hours ahead of New York today.

Jet lag, flying JFK → FCO. 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 FCO Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International AirportRome, Italy · longest runway 12,801 ft3,902 m

More routes from JFK and FCO

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 JFKMUC New York – Munich 6,481 km4,027 mi · 7 h 50 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 FCOLIN Rome – Milan 470 km292 mi · 1 h 35 min BCNFCO Barcelona – Rome 848 km527 mi · 1 h 55 min FCOATH Rome – Athens 1,085 km674 mi · 2 h 10 min AMSFCO Amsterdam – Rome 1,297 km806 mi · 2 h 30 min MADFCO Madrid – Rome 1,331 km827 mi · 2 h 25 min EZEFCO Buenos Aires – Rome 11,156 km6,932 mi · 13 h 20 min

Routes of a similar length

LHRNBO London – Nairobi 6,841 km4,251 mi · 8 h 35 min ORDFRA Chicago – Frankfurt 6,971 km4,331 mi · 8 h 25 min ATLLHR Atlanta – London 6,761 km4,201 mi · 8 h 10 min LGWBGI London – Barbados (Bridgetown) 6,759 km4,200 mi · 9 h 15 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).