MODO AVIÓN

Christchurch to Buenos Aires flight path

CHC → AEPCHCAEP
The shortest path on the sphere. On a flat map it looks curved; on the globe it is a straight line.

Along the shortest route, the flight from Christchurch to Buenos Aires covers 6,160 miles (9,920 km) — about 11 h 55 min with no wind. It crosses the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean: 80% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+13 and land on UTC−3.

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From Christchurch International Airport (CHC) to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP) · CHC · AEP

CHCChristchurch
AEPBuenos Aires
Great-circle distance
9,920 km
Duration, no wind
11 h 55 min
Over water
80 %
Time difference today
−16 h

The route drawn is the theoretical one — the shortest path on the sphere. The real aircraft follows airways, avoids storms and closed airspace, and rides the wind: it can be hundreds of kilometres off.

What countries do you fly over from Christchurch to Buenos Aires?

  • New Zealand
  • Argentina
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Mount Fitz Roy

To see Mount Fitz Roy (3,375 m), sit on the right: it lies about 87 km from the route, ≈ 9 h 20 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Bahía Blanca ≈ 11 h 00 min
Right window
  • Mount Fitz Roy (3,375 m) ≈ 9 h 20 min

Left and right facing forward, on the theoretical route. Times are from take-off, with no wind.

Leg by leg

2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC−3UTC+13Pacific OceanSouth IslandWellington IslandPampasMount Fitz Roy 3,375 m 87 kmBahía Blanca 12 kmCHCAEP▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC−3Pacific OceanSouth IslandWellington IslandPampasBahía Blanca12 km off routeMount Fitz Roy3,375 m · 87 kmCHCAEPUTC+13

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from Christchurch International Airport
  2. Below: South Island0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Below: Banks Peninsula33 km · ≈ 17 min into the flight
  4. Pacific Ocean and Southern Ocean — 7,800 km without land66 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
  5. Below: New Zealand66 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
  6. Below: Polynesia99 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
  7. Local time below changes: UTC+13 to UTC−37,700 km · ≈ 9 h 05 min into the flight
  8. Below: Wellington Island7,770 km · ≈ 9 h 10 min into the flight
  9. Below: Andes7,870 km · ≈ 9 h 20 min into the flight
  10. Land again7,870 km · ≈ 9 h 20 min into the flight
  11. Mount Fitz Roy, 3,375 m — on the right, 87 km away7,890 km · ≈ 9 h 20 min into the flight
  12. Below: Pampas9,260 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
  13. Bahía Blanca, Argentina — on the left, 12 km away9,340 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  14. Landing at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery9,920 km · ≈ 11 h 40 min into the flight

Times assume a typical jet speed, no wind and an on-time departure. Good for orientation, not for your watch.

Which side the sun, sunrise or sunset will be on

Enter the day and take-off time. Your phone does the maths: the sun's position on every leg of the route, relative to the nose of the aircraft.

Take-offLanding

Sky: light is daytime, amber is sunrise or sunset, dark is night. Left and Right show which side the sun is on for each leg.

Follow the route offline in airplane mode

All of this on board and with no signal: with your phone in airplane mode, Modo Avión shows where you are, what's below and how long is left. GPS still works, because it only listens to satellites.

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Arriving in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires · Photo: ProtoplasmaKid · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Flight time and distance

About 11 h 55 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

6,160 miles (9,920 km, 5,360 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC+13Auckland
7,700 kmUTC−3Punta Arenas

Airspace (FIRs) along the route

Each is a control region: when the aircraft crosses the boundary, the centre talking to the pilot changes. Boundaries are approximate, from the VATSIM data set, not the official ICAO chart.

  • Christchurch (Kaikoura)
  • Christchurch (South)
  • Auckland Radio
  • McMurdo (Mac)
  • Pascua
  • Punta Arenas
  • Comodoro Rivadavia
  • Ezeiza

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from Christchurch to Buenos Aires?

Along the shortest route, the flight from Christchurch to Buenos Aires covers 6,160 miles (9,920 km) — about 11 h 55 min with no wind. It crosses the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean: 80% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+13 and land on UTC−3.

What countries do you fly over from Christchurch to Buenos Aires?

It passes over or close to New Zealand and Argentina, and crosses the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from Christchurch to Buenos Aires?

About 11 h 55 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

How far is Christchurch from Buenos Aires by plane?

6,160 miles (9,920 km, 5,360 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

How much of the flight is over water?

80% of the route, about 7,930 km. The longest stretch without land is 7,800 km.

Why doesn't the plane fly in a straight line on the map?

It does fly straight — on a sphere. On a flat map the shortest path looks curved; on the globe on this page it looks like what it is.

Does GPS work in airplane mode?

Yes. GPS is a receiver: it listens to satellites and transmits nothing, so it keeps working in airplane mode. What you won't have is a map unless you downloaded it; Modo Avión carries its own.

More routes

The way back: Buenos Aires → Christchurch

Look up another route

How this was calculated

The route is the great-circle arc between both airports, split into 300 points. At each point a point-in-polygon test runs against 1,102 airspace regions, 418 time zones and 1,338 physical geography regions. Countries are those with a town within 25 km of the route: in empty areas one may be missing. Cities named have over 250,000 people and lie within 110 km.

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