Flight distance calculator (coordinates)
Enter the coordinates of the departure and arrival points to get the straight-line distance over the Earth and the initial heading.
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Processing and privacy: The result is calculated inside your browser and your data is not sent to any server.
How to use it
- Enter departure latitude, departure longitude, arrival latitude and arrival longitude.
- The result appears straight away and updates as you edit.
- Copy the result, or copy a link that keeps the same values to share it.
How it is calculated
a = sin²(Δφ/2) + cos φ1 × cos φ2 × sin²(Δλ/2); distance = 2R × atan2(√a, √(1−a)) with R = 6371.0088 km, the mean Earth radius. 1 mile = 1.609344 km, 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km.
Example
Inputs: Departure latitude = 24.7136 °, Departure longitude = 46.6753 °, Arrival latitude = 30.0444 °, Arrival longitude = 31.2357 °. Result: Distance: 1,633.8 km; In miles: 1,015.2 mi; In nautical miles: 882.2 nmi.
Limits and caveats
- The formula treats the Earth as a sphere, which can differ from the true shape by about 0.5%.
- Actual flight paths are usually longer because of air corridors and weather.
Questions about this tool
Where do I get a city's coordinates?
In Google Maps, long-press the spot. The first number is latitude and the second is longitude.
Why is this shorter than the road distance?
It is a straight line over the Earth's surface, while roads bend around terrain and towns.
What does the initial bearing mean?
It is the angle clockwise from north at the departure point: 90 is east and 270 is west.
