Los Angeles to Buenos Aires flight path
Along the shortest route, the flight from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires covers 6,130 miles (9,860 km) — about 11 h 50 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United States, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. It crosses the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean: 75% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−7 and land on UTC−3.
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From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Ezeiza International Airport - Ministro Pistarini (EZE) · LAX · EZE
- Great-circle distance
- 9,860 km
- Duration, no wind
- 11 h 50 min
- Over water
- 75 %
- Time difference today
- +4 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 Los Angeles to Buenos Aires?
- United States
- Mexico
- Chile
- Argentina
- Gulf of California
- Pacific Ocean
Which side of the plane to sit on to see Ojos del Salado
To see Ojos del Salado (6,880 m), sit on the right: it lies about 108 km from the route, ≈ 10 h 05 min into the flight.
- San Gorgonio Mountain (3,505 m) ≈ 20 min
- Mexicali ≈ 35 min
- Culiacán ≈ 1 h 55 min
- Mazatlán ≈ 2 h 10 min
- Tepic ≈ 2 h 25 min
- Colima (4,330 m) ≈ 2 h 45 min
- Llullaillaco (6,739 m) ≈ 9 h 55 min
- Santa Fe ≈ 11 h 10 min
- Rosario ≈ 11 h 15 min
- San Diego ≈ 25 min
- Tijuana ≈ 30 min
- Ensenada ≈ 35 min
- Picacho del Diablo (3,069 m) ≈ 45 min
- Antofagasta ≈ 9 h 40 min
- Ojos del Salado (6,880 m) ≈ 10 h 05 min
Left and right facing forward, on the theoretical route. Times are from take-off, with no wind.
Leg by leg
LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change
See the full list, leg by leg
- Take-off from Los Angeles International Airport
- San Gorgonio Mountain, 3,505 m — on the left, 116 km away90 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
- San Diego, United States — on the right, 14 km away178 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
- Tijuana, Mexico — on the right, 20 km away206 km · ≈ 30 min into the flight
- Ensenada, Mexico — on the right, 42 km away282 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
- Mexicali, Mexico — on the left, 94 km away297 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
- Below: Baja California Peninsula329 km · ≈ 40 min into the flight
- Below: Sonoran Desert394 km · ≈ 40 min into the flight
- Picacho del Diablo, 3,069 m — on the right, 27 km away433 km · ≈ 45 min into the flight
- Gulf of California and Pacific Ocean — 1,410 km without land526 km · ≈ 50 min into the flight
- Culiacán, Mexico — on the left, 101 km away1,470 km · ≈ 1 h 55 min into the flight
- Mazatlán, Mexico — on the left, 65 km away1,670 km · ≈ 2 h 10 min into the flight
- Tepic, Mexico — on the left, 66 km away1,910 km · ≈ 2 h 25 min into the flight
- Below: Sierra Madre Occidental1,940 km · ≈ 2 h 30 min into the flight
- Below: Sierra Madre del Sur1,970 km · ≈ 2 h 30 min into the flight
- Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−61,970 km · ≈ 2 h 30 min into the flight
- Colima, 4,330 m — on the left, 33 km away2,160 km · ≈ 2 h 45 min into the flight
- Pacific Ocean — 5,820 km without land2,370 km · ≈ 3 h 00 min into the flight
- Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−55,720 km · ≈ 6 h 50 min into the flight
- Local time below changes: UTC−5 to UTC−38,120 km · ≈ 9 h 35 min into the flight
- Antofagasta, Chile — on the right, 0 km away8,170 km · ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight
- Below: Atacama Desert8,180 km · ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight
- Land again8,180 km · ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight
- Llullaillaco, 6,739 m — on the left, 66 km away8,380 km · ≈ 9 h 55 min into the flight
- Below: Altiplano8,450 km · ≈ 10 h 00 min into the flight
- Ojos del Salado, 6,880 m — on the right, 108 km away8,580 km · ≈ 10 h 05 min into the flight
- Below: Andes8,610 km · ≈ 10 h 10 min into the flight
- Below: Pampas8,910 km · ≈ 10 h 30 min into the flight
- Santa Fe, Argentina — on the left, 108 km away9,470 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
- Rosario, Argentina — on the left, 12 km away9,580 km · ≈ 11 h 15 min into the flight
- Landing at Ezeiza International Airport - Ministro Pistarini9,860 km · ≈ 11 h 35 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.
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
Flight time and distance
About 11 h 50 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.
6,130 miles (9,860 km, 5,320 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.
Time zones you cross
| km | Time | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| 0 km | UTC−7 | Los Angeles |
| 1,970 km | UTC−6 | Mexico City |
| 5,720 km | UTC−5 | Lima |
| 8,120 km | UTC−3 | Santiago |
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.
- Los Angeles
- Mexico
- Cenamer
- Guayaquil
- Lima
- Antofagasta
- Cordoba
- Ezeiza
FAQ
Where does the plane fly from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires?
Along the shortest route, the flight from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires covers 6,130 miles (9,860 km) — about 11 h 50 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United States, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. It crosses the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean: 75% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−7 and land on UTC−3.
What countries do you fly over from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires?
It passes over or close to the United States, Mexico, Chile and Argentina, and crosses the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.
How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires?
About 11 h 50 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 Los Angeles from Buenos Aires by plane?
6,130 miles (9,860 km, 5,320 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?
75% of the route, about 7,360 km. The longest stretch without land is 5,820 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 → Los Angeles
- Buenos Aires → Madrid
- Buenos Aires → Miami
- Buenos Aires → Rome
- Buenos Aires → Barcelona
- Buenos Aires → New York
- Buenos Aires → Santiago
- Buenos Aires → Lima
- Buenos Aires → Bogota
- Buenos Aires → Panama City
- Buenos Aires → Cancún
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.