JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

MSP Minneapolis ⇄ AMS Amsterdam

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport / Wold–Chamberlain Field (United States) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,685 km4,154 mi3,610 nautical miles
MSP → AMS8 h 10 minestimated block time
AMS → MSP9 h 10 minestimated block time
Clock change+6 hAmsterdam vs Minneapolis, today
Great-circle route from Minneapolis (MSP) to Amsterdam (AMS)MSPMinneapolisAMSAmsterdam
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

MSP → AMS

8 h 10 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 44° (NE).

Leave Minneapolis Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Amsterdam Sun 8 Nov, 01:10 local +1 day.

AMS → MSP

9 h 10 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 306° (NW).

Leave Amsterdam Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Minneapolis Sat 7 Nov, 12:10 local.

MSP-bound flights are the slower direction by about 60 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 distance6,685 km · 4,154 mi · 3,610 nmi
Initial heading44° (NE) from MSP; 306° (NW) from AMS
Farthest from the equator60.3°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip33% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

MSPAmerica/Chicago — UTC−5 now; UTC−6 standard time, UTC−5 during daylight saving time
AMSEurope/Amsterdam — UTC+1 now; UTC+1 standard time, UTC+2 during daylight saving time
DifferenceAmsterdam is 6 hours ahead of Minneapolis today.

Jet lag, flying MSP → AMS. Your body clock has to move 6 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 6 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

MSP Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport / Wold–Chamberlain FieldMinneapolis, United States · longest runway 11,006 ft3,355 m AMS Amsterdam Airport SchipholAmsterdam, Netherlands · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m

More routes from MSP and AMS

ORDMSP Chicago – Minneapolis 537 km334 mi · 1 h 45 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 SEAAMS Seattle – Amsterdam 7,840 km4,872 mi · 9 h 40 min AMSSIN Amsterdam – Singapore 10,514 km6,533 mi · 12 h 20 min

Routes of a similar length

ORDCDG Chicago – Paris 6,665 km4,141 mi · 8 h 05 min MIASCL Miami – Santiago 6,658 km4,137 mi · 8 h 35 min LHRDEL London – Delhi 6,731 km4,183 mi · 8 h 05 min LHRBGI London – Barbados (Bridgetown) 6,751 km4,195 mi · 9 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).