JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

LAX Los Angeles ⇄ MUC Munich

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

Distance9,616 km5,975 mi5,192 nautical miles
LAX → MUC11 h 25 minestimated block time
MUC → LAX12 h 35 minestimated block time
Clock change+8 hMunich vs Los Angeles, today
Great-circle route from Los Angeles (LAX) to Munich (MUC)LAXLos AngelesMUCMunich
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 → MUC

11 h 25 min

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

Leave Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Munich Sun 8 Nov, 06:25 local +1 day.

MUC → LAX

12 h 35 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 321° (NW).

Leave Munich Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 13:35 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 distance9,616 km · 5,975 mi · 5,192 nmi
Initial heading31° (NNE) from LAX; 321° (NW) from MUC
Farthest from the equator65.0°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip48% 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
MUCEurope/Berlin — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceMunich is 8 hours ahead of Los Angeles today.

Jet lag, flying LAX → MUC. 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 MUC Munich AirportMunich, Germany · longest runway 13,123 ft4,000 m

More routes from LAX and MUC

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 MUCBER Munich – Berlin 462 km287 mi · 1 h 35 min HAMMUC Hamburg – Munich 600 km373 mi · 1 h 45 min LHRMUC London – Munich 941 km585 mi · 2 h JFKMUC New York – Munich 6,481 km4,027 mi · 7 h 50 min ORDMUC Chicago – Munich 7,270 km4,517 mi · 8 h 45 min

Routes of a similar length

LHRHKG London – Hong Kong 9,630 km5,984 mi · 11 h 20 min LHRHND London – Tokyo 9,592 km5,960 mi · 11 h 35 min CDGHKG Paris – Hong Kong 9,590 km5,959 mi · 11 h 10 min LHRBKK London – Bangkok 9,578 km5,951 mi · 11 h 15 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).