What is great-circle distance?

Great-circle distance is the shortest path between two points on a sphere. Airlines fly great-circle routes to minimize fuel. The haversine formula computes this from latitude/longitude.

Why is my actual flight distance longer?

Air traffic control routes around restricted airspace and weather, typically adding 2–5% over the pure great-circle distance.

What are nautical miles and why does aviation use them?

One nautical mile = 1 arc-minute of latitude (1.852 km). Aviation uses nm because they align with lat/lon navigation — 60 nm = 1 degree latitude.

How accurate are preset airport pairs?

Preset values are based on published IATA/FAA coordinates and match commercial planning databases within ±5 miles.

Flight Distance Calculator

Calculate great-circle flight distance between any two points using coordinates, or choose from major airport pairs. Returns statute miles, kilometers, and nautical miles.

Origin Latitude (°) ?

Origin Longitude (°) ?

Destination Latitude (°) ?

Destination Longitude (°) ?

Distance (miles)

—

Distance (km) —

Distance (nautical miles) —

Extended More scenarios, charts & detailed breakdown ▾

Origin Lat (°)

Origin Lon (°)

Dest Lat (°)

Dest Lon (°)

Miles

—

Kilometers —

Nautical Miles —

Professional Full parameters & maximum detail ▾

Origin Lat (°)

Origin Lon (°)

Dest Lat (°)

Dest Lon (°)

Route Deviation % ?

Great Circle (mi)

—

Actual Route Estimate (mi) —

Great Circle (km) —

Great Circle (nm) —

How to Use This Calculator

Enter origin and destination coordinates.
Or pick a preset major airport route.
Use Multi-City to sum up to 3 segments.
Switch to Professional to add a route-deviation factor.

Formula

Haversine: a = sin²(Δlat/2) + cos(lat1)·cos(lat2)·sin²(Δlon/2)
d = 2R·atan2(√a, √(1−a)), R = 3,958.8 mi

Example

JFK (40.64°N, 73.78°W) → LAX (33.94°N, 118.41°W): 2,475 mi / 3,983 km / 2,150 nm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Great-circle distance is the shortest path between two points on a sphere. Airlines fly great-circle routes to minimize fuel. The haversine formula computes this from latitude/longitude.
Air traffic control routes around restricted airspace and weather, typically adding 2–5% over the pure great-circle distance.
One nautical mile = 1 arc-minute of latitude (1.852 km). Aviation uses nm because they align with lat/lon navigation — 60 nm = 1 degree latitude.
Preset values are based on published IATA/FAA coordinates and match commercial planning databases within ±5 miles.

Related Calculators

Sources & References (5) ▾

Great Circle Mapper — IATA Airport Database — gcmap.com
IATA Airport Codes & Coordinates — IATA
FAA Aeronautical Chart Users Guide — FAA
SkyVector Aeronautical Charts — SkyVector
ICAO Annex 15 — Aeronautical Information Services — ICAO