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Madrid to Tijuana flight path

MAD → TIJMADTIJ
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 Madrid to Tijuana covers 5,840 miles (9,400 km) — about 11 h 20 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Spain, Canada, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea: 40% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+2 and land on UTC−7.

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From Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) to General Abelardo L. Rodriguez International Airport (TIJ) · MAD · TIJ

MADMadrid
TIJTijuana
Great-circle distance
9,400 km
Duration, no wind
11 h 20 min
Over water
40 %
Time difference today
−9 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 Madrid to Tijuana?

  • Spain
  • Canada
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Labrador Sea

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Mount Elbert

To see Mount Elbert (4,402 m), sit on the left: it lies about 100 km from the route, ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Vigo ≈ 45 min
  • Longs Peak (4,346 m) ≈ 9 h 30 min
  • Mount Elbert (4,402 m) ≈ 9 h 40 min
  • Mount Peale (3,877 m) ≈ 9 h 55 min
  • Humphreys Peak (3,851 m) ≈ 10 h 25 min
  • Mexicali ≈ 10 h 55 min
Right window
  • Valladolid ≈ 25 min
  • A Coruña ≈ 50 min
  • San Gorgonio Mountain (3,505 m) ≈ 10 h 55 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−4UTC−5UTC−6UTC−7UTC+2Atlantic OceanIberian PeninsulaLabradorGreat LakesGreat PlainsColorado PlateauMount Elbert 4,402 m 100 kmLongs Peak 4,346 m 47 kmMount Peale 3,877 m 3 kmHumphreys Peak 3,851 m 115 kmSan Gorgonio Mountain 3,505 m 113 kmMADTIJ▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC−3UTC−4UTC−5UTC−6UTC−7Atlantic OceanIberian PeninsulaLabradorGreat LakesGreat PlainsFront RangeVigo107 km off routeLongs Peak4,346 m · 47 kmMount Elbert4,402 m · 100 kmMount Peale3,877 m · 3 kmHumphreys Peak3,851 m · 115 kmMexicali94 km off routeValladolid41 km off routeA Coruña12 km off routeSan Gorgonio Mountain3,505 m · 113 kmMADTIJUTC+2

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport
  2. Below: Iberian Peninsula0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Valladolid, Spain — on the right, 41 km away156 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
  4. Vigo, Spain — on the left, 107 km away459 km · ≈ 45 min into the flight
  5. A Coruña, Spain — on the right, 12 km away511 km · ≈ 50 min into the flight
  6. Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea — 3,670 km without land533 km · ≈ 50 min into the flight
  7. Local time below changes: UTC+2 to UTC−34,110 km · ≈ 5 h 00 min into the flight
  8. Below: Labrador4,200 km · ≈ 5 h 05 min into the flight
  9. Land again4,200 km · ≈ 5 h 05 min into the flight
  10. Below: Canadian Shield4,450 km · ≈ 5 h 20 min into the flight
  11. Local time below changes: UTC−3 to UTC−44,860 km · ≈ 5 h 50 min into the flight
  12. Below: Great Lakes6,390 km · ≈ 7 h 35 min into the flight
  13. Below: Laurentian Upland6,580 km · ≈ 7 h 50 min into the flight
  14. Local time below changes: UTC−4 to UTC−56,580 km · ≈ 7 h 50 min into the flight
  15. Below: Central Lowlands6,960 km · ≈ 8 h 15 min into the flight
  16. Below: Great Plains7,240 km · ≈ 8 h 35 min into the flight
  17. Local time below changes: UTC−5 to UTC−67,590 km · ≈ 9 h 00 min into the flight
  18. Below: Rocky Mountains7,960 km · ≈ 9 h 25 min into the flight
  19. Below: Front Range8,020 km · ≈ 9 h 30 min into the flight
  20. Longs Peak, 4,346 m — on the left, 47 km away8,080 km · ≈ 9 h 30 min into the flight
  21. Mount Elbert, 4,402 m — on the left, 100 km away8,210 km · ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight
  22. Below: Colorado Plateau8,270 km · ≈ 9 h 45 min into the flight
  23. Mount Peale, 3,877 m — on the left, 3 km away8,440 km · ≈ 9 h 55 min into the flight
  24. Below: Grand Canyon8,710 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  25. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−78,750 km · ≈ 10 h 20 min into the flight
  26. Humphreys Peak, 3,851 m — on the left, 115 km away8,840 km · ≈ 10 h 25 min into the flight
  27. Below: Sonoran Desert9,090 km · ≈ 10 h 40 min into the flight
  28. San Gorgonio Mountain, 3,505 m — on the right, 113 km away9,270 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
  29. Mexicali, Mexico — on the left, 94 km away9,300 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
  30. Landing at General Abelardo L. Rodriguez International Airport9,400 km · ≈ 11 h 05 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 Tijuana

Tijuana
Tijuana · Photo: Tomas Castelazo · CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Flight time and distance

About 11 h 20 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.

5,840 miles (9,400 km, 5,080 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC+2Madrid
4,110 kmUTC−3Goose Bay
4,860 kmUTC−4Toronto
6,580 kmUTC−5Chicago
7,590 kmUTC−6Denver
8,750 kmUTC−7Phoenix

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.

  • Madrid
  • Shanwick Oceanic
  • Gander Oceanic
  • Moncton
  • Montreal
  • Winnipeg
  • Minneapolis
  • Denver
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from Madrid to Tijuana?

Along the shortest route, the flight from Madrid to Tijuana covers 5,840 miles (9,400 km) — about 11 h 20 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Spain, Canada, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea: 40% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+2 and land on UTC−7.

What countries do you fly over from Madrid to Tijuana?

It passes over or close to Spain, Canada, the United States and Mexico, and crosses the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from Madrid to Tijuana?

About 11 h 20 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 Madrid from Tijuana by plane?

5,840 miles (9,400 km, 5,080 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?

40% of the route, about 3,730 km. The longest stretch without land is 3,670 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: Tijuana → Madrid

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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