JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

LAX Los Angeles ⇄ AMS Amsterdam

Los Angeles International Airport (United States) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance8,956 km5,565 mi4,836 nautical miles
LAX → AMS10 h 45 minestimated block time
AMS → LAX11 h 45 minestimated block time
Clock change+8 hAmsterdam vs Los Angeles, today
Great-circle route from Los Angeles (LAX) to Amsterdam (AMS)LAXLos AngelesAMSAmsterdam
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

LAX → AMS

10 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 31° (NNE).

Leave Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Amsterdam Sun 8 Nov, 05:45 local +1 day.

AMS → LAX

11 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 315° (NW).

Leave Amsterdam Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 12:45 local.

LAX-bound flights are the slower direction by about 65 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 distance8,956 km · 5,565 mi · 4,836 nmi
Initial heading31° (NNE) from LAX; 315° (NW) from AMS
Farthest from the equator64.5°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip45% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

LAXAmerica/Los_Angeles — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
AMSEurope/Amsterdam — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceAmsterdam is 8 hours ahead of Los Angeles today.

Jet lag, flying LAX → AMS. Your body clock has to move 8 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 8 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

LAX Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles, United States · longest runway 12,894 ft3,930 m AMS Amsterdam Airport SchipholAmsterdam, Netherlands · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m

More routes from LAX and AMS

LAXLAS Los Angeles – Las Vegas 380 km236 mi · 1 h 25 min LAXSEA Los Angeles – Seattle 1,537 km955 mi · 2 h 50 min EWRLAX Newark – Los Angeles 3,941 km2,449 mi · 6 h 05 min LAXNAN Los Angeles – Nadi (Fiji) 8,893 km5,526 mi · 11 h 30 min LAXTPE Los Angeles – Taipei 10,922 km6,787 mi · 14 h 40 min LAXSIN Los Angeles – Singapore 14,102 km8,762 mi · 18 h 25 min LHRAMS London – Amsterdam 370 km230 mi · 1 h 25 min AMSBCN Amsterdam – Barcelona 1,241 km771 mi · 2 h 30 min AMSATH Amsterdam – Athens 2,182 km1,356 mi · 3 h 20 min DTWAMS Detroit – Amsterdam 6,324 km3,929 mi · 7 h 45 min ATLAMS Atlanta – Amsterdam 7,066 km4,390 mi · 8 h 30 min AMSSIN Amsterdam – Singapore 10,514 km6,533 mi · 12 h 20 min

Routes of a similar length

ISTHND Istanbul – Tokyo 8,959 km5,567 mi · 10 h 25 min SFOCDG San Francisco – Paris 8,963 km5,569 mi · 10 h 45 min CDGICN Paris – Seoul 8,927 km5,547 mi · 10 h 40 min FRABKK Frankfurt – Bangkok 9,000 km5,593 mi · 10 h 35 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).