JetSetAuthority

Route · Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

SYD Sydney ⇄ HKG Hong Kong

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

Distance7,394 km4,595 mi3,993 nautical miles
SYD → HKG9 h 35 minestimated block time
HKG → SYD9 h 15 minestimated block time
Clock change−3 hHong Kong vs Sydney, today
Great-circle route from Sydney (SYD) to Hong Kong (HKG)SYDSydneyHKGHong Kong
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 → HKG

9 h 35 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 322° (NW).

Leave Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Hong Kong Sat 7 Nov, 16:35 local.

HKG → SYD

9 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 147° (SSE).

Leave Hong Kong Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 22:15 local.

HKG-bound flights are the slower direction by about 20 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 distance7,394 km · 4,595 mi · 3,993 nmi
Initial heading322° (NW) from SYD; 147° (SSE) from HKG
Farthest from the equator33.9°S
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip37% 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
HKGAsia/Hong_Kong — UTC+8 now; UTC+8 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceHong Kong is 3 hours behind Sydney today; −3 h in January and −2 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying SYD → HKG. Your body clock has to move 3 hours later, like a westward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 3 days to fully adjust. Shifting later (as here) is usually the easier direction; evening daylight at the destination helps. 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 HKG Hong Kong International AirportHong Kong, Hong Kong · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m

More routes from SYD and HKG

SYDCBR Sydney – Canberra 236 km147 mi · 1 h 20 min SYDCHC Sydney – Christchurch 2,126 km1,321 mi · 3 h 15 min SYDMNL Sydney – Manila 6,263 km3,892 mi · 8 h 20 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 HKGTPE Hong Kong – Taipei 806 km501 mi · 1 h 55 min HKGBKK Hong Kong – Bangkok 1,690 km1,050 mi · 3 h HKGSIN Hong Kong – Singapore 2,566 km1,594 mi · 4 h CDGHKG Paris – Hong Kong 9,590 km5,959 mi · 11 h 10 min SFOHKG San Francisco – Hong Kong 11,128 km6,915 mi · 14 h 50 min JFKHKG New York – Hong Kong 12,970 km8,059 mi · 15 h 55 min

Routes of a similar length

ATLFRA Atlanta – Frankfurt 7,409 km4,604 mi · 8 h 50 min MIACDG Miami – Paris 7,372 km4,580 mi · 8 h 45 min HNLICN Honolulu – Seoul 7,353 km4,569 mi · 10 h 15 min ISTJNB Istanbul – Johannesburg 7,496 km4,658 mi · 9 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).