JetSetAuthority

Route · Africa

JFK New York ⇄ JNB Johannesburg

John F. Kennedy International Airport (United States) and O.R. Tambo International Airport (South Africa): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance12,831 km7,973 mi6,928 nautical miles
JFK → JNB15 hestimated block time
JNB → JFK16 h 20 minestimated block time
Clock change+6 hJohannesburg vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Johannesburg (JNB)JFKNew YorkJNBJohannesburg
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 → JNB

15 h

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 104° (ESE).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Johannesburg Sun 8 Nov, 08:00 local +1 day.

JNB → JFK

16 h 20 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 305° (NW).

Leave Johannesburg Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 19:20 local.

JFK-bound flights are the slower direction by about 75 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 distance12,831 km · 7,973 mi · 6,928 nmi
Initial heading104° (ESE) from JFK; 305° (NW) from JNB
Farthest from the equator40.6°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip64% 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
JNBAfrica/Johannesburg — UTC+2 now; UTC+2 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceJohannesburg is 6 hours ahead of New York today; +7 h in January and +6 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying JFK → JNB. Your body clock has to move 6 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 6 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 JNB O.R. Tambo International AirportJohannesburg, South Africa · longest runway 14,495 ft4,418 m

More routes from JFK and JNB

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 DOHJFK Doha – New York 10,770 km6,692 mi · 14 h 15 min SINJFK Singapore – New York 15,341 km9,532 mi · 18 h 30 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 JNBPER Johannesburg – Perth 8,310 km5,163 mi · 9 h 40 min LHRJNB London – Johannesburg 9,075 km5,639 mi · 11 h 10 min ATLJNB Atlanta – Johannesburg 13,583 km8,440 mi · 15 h 55 min

Routes of a similar length

LAXMEL Los Angeles – Melbourne 12,758 km7,928 mi · 16 h 10 min SINSEA Singapore – Seattle 12,979 km8,065 mi · 15 h YYZHKG Toronto – Hong Kong 12,548 km7,797 mi · 15 h 35 min YVRSYD Vancouver – Sydney 12,501 km7,768 mi · 15 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).