JetSetAuthority

Route · Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America

JFK New York ⇄ MEX Mexico City

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

Distance3,365 km2,091 mi1,817 nautical miles
JFK → MEX5 h 05 minestimated block time
MEX → JFK4 h 40 minestimated block time
Clock change−2 hMexico City vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Mexico City (MEX)JFKNew YorkMEXMexico City
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 → MEX

5 h 05 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 233° (SW).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Mexico City Sat 7 Nov, 14:05 local.

MEX → JFK

4 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 40° (NE).

Leave Mexico City Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 15:40 local.

MEX-bound flights are the slower direction by about 30 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 distance3,365 km · 2,091 mi · 1,817 nmi
Initial heading233° (SW) from JFK; 40° (NE) from MEX
Farthest from the equator40.6°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip17% 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
MEXAmerica/Mexico_City — UTC−6 now; UTC−6 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceMexico City is 2 hours behind New York today; −1 h in January and −2 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying JFK → MEX. Your body clock has to move 2 hours 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

JFK John F. Kennedy International AirportNew York, United States · longest runway 14,511 ft4,423 m MEX Mexico City Benito Juárez International AirportMexico City, Mexico · longest runway 12,966 ft3,952 m

More routes from JFK and MEX

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 MEXGDL Mexico City – Guadalajara 459 km285 mi · 1 h 35 min IAHMEX Houston – Mexico City 1,232 km765 mi · 2 h 30 min MEXCUN Mexico City – Cancún 1,285 km798 mi · 2 h 25 min LAXMEX Los Angeles – Mexico City 2,500 km1,554 mi · 3 h 45 min BOGMEX Bogotá – Mexico City 3,159 km1,963 mi · 4 h 45 min MEXCDG Mexico City – Paris 9,199 km5,716 mi · 10 h 45 min

Routes of a similar length

YYZYVR Toronto – Vancouver 3,346 km2,079 mi · 5 h 15 min LAXCUN Los Angeles – Cancún 3,407 km2,117 mi · 4 h 40 min TLVCDG Tel Aviv – Paris 3,284 km2,040 mi · 5 h 05 min SYDPER Sydney – Perth 3,277 km2,036 mi · 5 h 10 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).