JetSetAuthority

Route · Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

SYD Sydney ⇄ CHC Christchurch

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

Distance2,126 km1,321 mi1,148 nautical miles
SYD → CHC3 h 15 minestimated block time
CHC → SYD3 h 45 minestimated block time
Clock change+2 hChristchurch vs Sydney, today
Great-circle route from Sydney (SYD) to Christchurch (CHC)SYDSydneyCHCChristchurch
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 → CHC

3 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 126° (SE).

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

CHC → SYD

3 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 293° (WNW).

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

SYD-bound flights are the slower direction by about 25 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 distance2,126 km · 1,321 mi · 1,148 nmi
Initial heading126° (SE) from SYD; 293° (WNW) from CHC
Farthest from the equator43.5°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
CHCPacific/Auckland — UTC+13 now; UTC+12 standard time, UTC+13 during daylight saving time
DifferenceChristchurch is 2 hours ahead of Sydney today.

Jet lag, flying SYD → CHC. 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 CHC Christchurch International AirportChristchurch, New Zealand · longest runway 10,787 ft3,288 m

More routes from SYD and CHC

SYDCBR Sydney – Canberra 236 km147 mi · 1 h 20 min SYDAKL Sydney – Auckland 2,159 km1,342 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 AKLCHC Auckland – Christchurch 745 km463 mi · 1 h 55 min

Routes of a similar length

CDGRAK Paris – Marrakesh 2,129 km1,323 mi · 3 h 35 min TPEHND Taipei – Tokyo 2,122 km1,319 mi · 3 h 20 min CDGATH Paris – Athens 2,108 km1,310 mi · 3 h 15 min KEFCPH Reykjavík – Copenhagen 2,144 km1,332 mi · 3 h 25 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).