JetSetAuthority

Route · Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

SYD Sydney ⇄ ICN Seoul

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

Distance8,343 km5,184 mi4,505 nautical miles
SYD → ICN10 h 40 minestimated block time
ICN → SYD10 h 25 minestimated block time
Clock change−2 hSeoul vs Sydney, today
Great-circle route from Sydney (SYD) to Seoul (ICN)SYDSydneyICNSeoul
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 → ICN

10 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 340° (NNW).

Leave Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Seoul Sat 7 Nov, 18:40 local.

ICN → SYD

10 h 25 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 159° (SSE).

Leave Seoul Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 22:25 local.

ICN-bound flights are the slower direction by about 15 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 distance8,343 km · 5,184 mi · 4,505 nmi
Initial heading340° (NNW) from SYD; 159° (SSE) from ICN
Farthest from the equator37.5°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip42% 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
ICNAsia/Seoul — UTC+9 now; UTC+9 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceSeoul is 2 hours behind Sydney today; −2 h in January and −1 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying SYD → ICN. Your body clock has to move 2 hours later, like a westward 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 ICN Incheon International AirportSeoul, South Korea · longest runway 13,123 ft4,000 m

More routes from SYD and ICN

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 HNLSYD Honolulu – Sydney 8,170 km5,077 mi · 10 h 35 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 ICNKIX Seoul – Osaka 860 km535 mi · 1 h 55 min ICNHKG Seoul – Hong Kong 2,069 km1,286 mi · 3 h 30 min YVRICN Vancouver – Seoul 8,200 km5,095 mi · 11 h LHRICN London – Seoul 8,861 km5,506 mi · 10 h 40 min ORDICN Chicago – Seoul 10,519 km6,536 mi · 13 h 30 min ATLICN Atlanta – Seoul 11,487 km7,138 mi · 14 h 40 min

Routes of a similar length

JNBPER Johannesburg – Perth 8,310 km5,163 mi · 9 h 40 min GRUMAD São Paulo – Madrid 8,378 km5,206 mi · 10 h 20 min SFOHND San Francisco – Tokyo 8,286 km5,148 mi · 11 h 30 min IAHFRA Houston – Frankfurt 8,402 km5,221 mi · 9 h 55 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).