Why is a flight going west longer than the same flight going west to east? [duplicate]
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I noticed that my flight going east to west took almost an hour longer than when coming back from west to east in continental US. What is the reason for this?
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Why flying west takes longer than flying east?
The reason it took so much longer to fly back is the jet stream, a river of fast-moving air high up in the sky. Jet streams are usually about 100 miles wide. They can be thousands of miles long and are found all over the earth. To be called a jet stream, the wind must be moving faster than 60 mph.Does flying west take longer than flying east?
That's why, when airplanes fly from west to east, it takes less time (than it does going east to west), because jet streams help 'piggyback' them to their destination, making the flight time shorter.Why are west to east flights shorter?
Shorter flightsSince the jet streams flow from the west to east, they make one leg of the journey much faster (when flying with the stream) and one slower (against the stream). Returning to the example from New York to London, we see flights may take even a slightly longer route to benefit from the jet stream.Why are some flights to the same place longer?
1) airports busier at certain times of day so more queueing to takeoff/land/taxi. 2) a different type of aircraft scheduled to operate the flight. They don't all fly at the same speed.Why Do Airplanes Take Longer to Fly West than East?
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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