JetSetAuthority

Route · Africa

JNB Johannesburg ⇄ NBO Nairobi

O.R. Tambo International Airport (South Africa) and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Kenya): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance2,912 km1,810 mi1,572 nautical miles
JNB → NBO4 h 20 minestimated block time
NBO → JNB4 h 25 minestimated block time
Clock change+1 hNairobi vs Johannesburg, today
Great-circle route from Johannesburg (JNB) to Nairobi (NBO)JNBJohannesburgNBONairobi
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

JNB → NBO

4 h 20 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 20° (NNE).

Leave Johannesburg Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Nairobi Sat 7 Nov, 15:20 local.

NBO → JNB

4 h 25 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 198° (SSW).

Leave Nairobi Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Johannesburg Sat 7 Nov, 13:25 local.

The two directions differ by 4 minutes in our estimate: this route runs mostly north–south, so the prevailing westerly winds make little difference. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance2,912 km · 1,810 mi · 1,572 nmi
Initial heading20° (NNE) from JNB; 198° (SSW) from NBO
Farthest from the equator26.1°S
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip15% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

JNBAfrica/Johannesburg — UTC+2 now; UTC+2 all year (no daylight saving time)
NBOAfrica/Nairobi — UTC+3 now; UTC+3 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceNairobi is 1 hour ahead of Johannesburg today.

Jet lag, flying JNB → NBO. Your body clock has to move 1 hour earlier, like an eastward 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

JNB O.R. Tambo International AirportJohannesburg, South Africa · longest runway 14,495 ft4,418 m NBO Jomo Kenyatta International AirportNairobi, Kenya · longest runway 13,507 ft4,117 m

More routes from JNB and NBO

JNBDUR Johannesburg – Durban 478 km297 mi · 1 h 35 min JNBMRU Johannesburg – Mauritius 3,066 km1,905 mi · 4 h 20 min ISTJNB Istanbul – Johannesburg 7,496 km4,658 mi · 9 h 35 min FRAJNB Frankfurt – Johannesburg 8,690 km5,400 mi · 10 h 50 min JNBSYD Johannesburg – Sydney 11,024 km6,850 mi · 12 h 35 min ATLJNB Atlanta – Johannesburg 13,583 km8,440 mi · 15 h 55 min NBOZNZ Nairobi – Zanzibar 602 km374 mi · 1 h 45 min NBOADD Nairobi – Addis Ababa 1,164 km723 mi · 2 h 20 min AMSNBO Amsterdam – Nairobi 6,677 km4,149 mi · 8 h 25 min LHRNBO London – Nairobi 6,841 km4,251 mi · 8 h 35 min

Routes of a similar length

LGWTFS London – Tenerife 2,913 km1,810 mi · 4 h 30 min LGWAYT London – Antalya 2,908 km1,807 mi · 4 h 05 min HKGNRT Hong Kong – Tokyo 2,962 km1,841 mi · 4 h 10 min SFOORD San Francisco – Chicago 2,964 km1,842 mi · 4 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).