JetSetAuthority

Route · Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

SYD Sydney ⇄ AKL Auckland

Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (Australia) and Auckland International Airport (New Zealand): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance2,159 km1,342 mi1,166 nautical miles
SYD → AKL3 h 15 minestimated block time
AKL → SYD3 h 45 minestimated block time
Clock change+2 hAuckland vs Sydney, today
Great-circle route from Sydney (SYD) to Auckland (AKL)SYDSydneyAKLAuckland
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

SYD → AKL

3 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 106° (ESE).

Leave Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Auckland Sat 7 Nov, 15:15 local.

AKL → SYD

3 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 272° (W).

Leave Auckland Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 11:45 local.

SYD-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 distance2,159 km · 1,342 mi · 1,166 nmi
Initial heading106° (ESE) from SYD; 272° (W) from AKL
Farthest from the equator37.0°S
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip11% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

SYDAustralia/Sydney — UTC+11 now; UTC+10 standard time, UTC+11 during daylight saving time
AKLPacific/Auckland — UTC+13 now; UTC+12 standard time, UTC+13 during daylight saving time
DifferenceAuckland is 2 hours ahead of Sydney today.

Jet lag, flying SYD → AKL. Your body clock has to move 2 hours 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

SYD Sydney Kingsford Smith International AirportSydney, Australia · longest runway 12,999 ft3,962 m AKL Auckland International AirportAuckland, New Zealand · longest runway 11,926 ft3,635 m

More routes from SYD and AKL

SYDCBR Sydney – Canberra 236 km147 mi · 1 h 20 min SYDCHC Sydney – Christchurch 2,126 km1,321 mi · 3 h 15 min SYDSIN Sydney – Singapore 6,293 km3,911 mi · 8 h 30 min SYDICN Sydney – Seoul 8,343 km5,184 mi · 10 h 40 min DXBSYD Dubai – Sydney 12,043 km7,483 mi · 14 h 15 min LHRSYD London – Sydney 17,021 km10,576 mi · 19 h 30 min AKLWLG Auckland – Wellington 480 km298 mi · 1 h 35 min AKLNAN Auckland – Nadi (Fiji) 2,156 km1,340 mi · 3 h 30 min AKLPPT Auckland – Papeete (Tahiti) 4,094 km2,544 mi · 5 h 25 min AKLEZE Auckland – Buenos Aires 10,312 km6,408 mi · 12 h DXBAKL Dubai – Auckland 14,199 km8,823 mi · 16 h 30 min DOHAKL Doha – Auckland 14,534 km9,031 mi · 16 h 50 min

Routes of a similar length

KEFCPH Reykjavík – Copenhagen 2,144 km1,332 mi · 3 h 25 min TPENRT Taipei – Tokyo 2,181 km1,355 mi · 3 h 20 min AMSATH Amsterdam – Athens 2,182 km1,356 mi · 3 h 20 min DXBDEL Dubai – Delhi 2,182 km1,356 mi · 3 h 20 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).