Why does my flight take longer on the way back?

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. The jet stream over the United States never stays in one place – it tends to move farther south and blow stronger in the winter, and to move farther north and not blow as strong in the summer.

Why is it longer to fly south than north?

Since the equator gets more sun than any other part, it will always have warmer air rising towards the north or south poles. This warm air just goes around the globe from north to south and back again. Since the globe is always rotating, the fragments closest to its axis move slower compared to those farther.

Why is the flight time different?

The reason for the different flight times is simply the wind. However, the Coriolis effect, caused by the rotation of the earth, causes winds to move right, in the direction of motion, in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern, making the wind blow east.

Are flights shorter west to east?

In summary, jet streams are the reason why flights take shorter when flying from the west to the east, than the other way around. While they do help to shave off a few hours off extremely long flights in some cases, they do come with some significant drawbacks too.

Why do we not fly west?

Instead, the earth’s rotation affects the way the wind blows on our planet. Plane travel times do often differ depending on the direction of travel, but this is caused by wind currents in the upper atmosphere called jet streams, and in the northern hemisphere it has a lengthening effect on flights from East to West.

Why are flights shorter one way?

The main reason for the difference in travel time is due to the jet stream. The jet stream is high altitude wind that blows from the west to the east across the globe. Next time you fly, pay attention to the duration of the flight and you will notice a shorter time for an eastbound flight versus a westbound flight.

Why do flights take longer from west to East?

Although the rotation of the earth and weather created by solar energy do affect the air circulation of the planet, and jet streams aloft, the main reason why west to east flights take “longer” is that flying east into new time zones adds an hour to your landing time for each time zone flown through.

Why do planes fly at different speeds in different directions?

The main reason for the difference in time are trade winds. Trade winds generally travel East to West, and so aircraft travelling in this direction have a faster ground speed, that is the speed relative to the ground. The true air speed of any aircraft is not affected by the wind.

How much does ground speed affect flight time?

That’s a 200 Knot ground speed difference which can really make an impact on flight time. ATC Holds Vary: ATC for various reasons may put a plane into a holding pattern on arrival. This may add to the time spent in the air for a given flight depending on the hold.

Why do some airlines slow down planes before takeoff?

Landing Slots: There are 5 high density airports here in the US (and presumably others elsewhere) that require planed ahead landing slots. If the slot time changes but the departure time remains the same an airline may chose to slow the plane a bit (or speed it up a bit) to compensate.