JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

JFK New York ⇄ KEF Reykjavík

John F. Kennedy International Airport (United States) and Keflavik International Airport (Iceland): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance4,163 km2,587 mi2,248 nautical miles
JFK → KEF5 h 30 minestimated block time
KEF → JFK6 h 05 minestimated block time
Clock change+4 hReykjavík vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Reykjavík (KEF)JFKNew YorkKEFReykjavík
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 → KEF

5 h 30 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 34° (NE).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Reykjavík Sat 7 Nov, 20:30 local.

KEF → JFK

6 h 05 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 257° (WSW).

Leave Reykjavík Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 11:05 local.

JFK-bound flights are the slower direction by about 30 minutes in our estimate: the route runs partly 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 distance4,163 km · 2,587 mi · 2,248 nmi
Initial heading34° (NE) from JFK; 257° (WSW) from KEF
Farthest from the equator64.0°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip21% 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
KEFAtlantic/Reykjavik — UTC+0 now; UTC+0 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceReykjavík is 4 hours ahead of New York today; +5 h in January and +4 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying JFK → KEF. Your body clock has to move 4 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 4 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 KEF Keflavik International AirportReykjavík, Iceland · longest runway 10,056 ft3,065 m

More routes from JFK and KEF

JFKBOS New York – Boston 300 km186 mi · 1 h 20 min JFKDEN New York – Denver 2,610 km1,622 mi · 4 h 20 min JFKMAD New York – Madrid 5,760 km3,579 mi · 7 h 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 LHRKEF London – Reykjavík 1,895 km1,178 mi · 3 h 20 min KEFCPH Reykjavík – Copenhagen 2,144 km1,332 mi · 3 h 25 min BOSKEF Boston – Reykjavík 3,875 km2,408 mi · 5 h 15 min SEAKEF Seattle – Reykjavík 5,811 km3,611 mi · 7 h 25 min

Routes of a similar length

SINDEL Singapore – Delhi 4,159 km2,584 mi · 5 h 55 min LAXBOS Los Angeles – Boston 4,193 km2,605 mi · 5 h 20 min EWRSFO Newark – San Francisco 4,118 km2,559 mi · 6 h 15 min LAXHNL Los Angeles – Honolulu 4,108 km2,553 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).