MODO AVIÓN

Mexico City to Osaka flight path

MEX → ITMMEXITM
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 Mexico City to Osaka covers 7,260 miles (11,680 km) — about 13 h 55 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Mexico, the United States and Japan. It crosses the Pacific Ocean: 69% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−6 and land on UTC+9.

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From Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) to Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM) · MEX · ITM

MEXMexico City
ITMOsaka
Great-circle distance
11,680 km
Duration, no wind
13 h 55 min
Over water
69 %
Time difference today
+15 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 Mexico City to Osaka?

  • Mexico
  • United States
  • Japan
  • Pacific Ocean

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Popocatépetl

To see Popocatépetl (5,420 m), sit on the right: it lies about 3 km from the route, ≈ 15 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Santiago de Querétaro ≈ 30 min
  • León de los Aldama ≈ 35 min
  • Cerro Mohinora (3,348 m) ≈ 1 h 30 min
  • Hermosillo ≈ 2 h 05 min
  • Mexicali ≈ 2 h 45 min
  • Los Angeles ≈ 3 h 05 min
  • Junipero Serra Peak (1,787 m) ≈ 3 h 35 min
  • Nagoya ≈ 13 h 30 min
Right window
  • Popocatépetl (5,420 m) ≈ 15 min
  • San Gorgonio Mountain (3,505 m) ≈ 3 h 00 min
  • San Jose ≈ 3 h 40 min
  • San Francisco ≈ 3 h 45 min
  • Sendai ≈ 13 h 00 min
  • Niigata ≈ 13 h 10 min
  • Mount Tate (3,015 m) ≈ 13 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 h12 hUTC−7UTC+9UTC−6Pacific OceanMexican PlateauSonoran DesertJapanSan Gorgonio Mountain 3,505 m 15 kmCerro Mohinora 3,348 m 50 kmMount Tate 3,015 m 44 kmJunipero Serra Peak 1,787 m 52 kmLos Angeles 70 kmNagoya 45 kmSendai 31 kmMexicali 35 kmSan Jose 30 kmSan Francisco 44 kmNiigata 91 kmMEXITM▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 h12 hUTC−7UTC+9Pacific OceanMexican PlateauSonoran DesertSierra NevadaJapanSantiago de Querétaro10 km off routeLeón de los Aldama64 km off routeCerro Mohinora3,348 m · 50 kmHermosillo61 km off routeMexicali35 km off routeLos Angeles70 km off routeJunipero Serra Peak1,787 m · 52 kmNagoya45 km off routePopocatépetl5,420 m · 3 kmSan Gorgonio Mountain3,505 m · 15 kmSan Jose30 km off routeSan Francisco44 km off routeSendai31 km off routeNiigata91 km off routeMount Tate3,015 m · 44 kmMEXITMUTC−6

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport
  2. Popocatépetl, 5,420 m — on the right, 3 km away0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Below: Mexican Plateau156 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
  4. Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico — on the left, 10 km away188 km · ≈ 30 min into the flight
  5. León de los Aldama, Mexico — on the left, 64 km away324 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
  6. Below: Sierra Madre Occidental857 km · ≈ 1 h 15 min into the flight
  7. Cerro Mohinora, 3,348 m — on the left, 50 km away1,090 km · ≈ 1 h 30 min into the flight
  8. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−71,440 km · ≈ 1 h 55 min into the flight
  9. Below: Sonoran Desert1,600 km · ≈ 2 h 05 min into the flight
  10. Hermosillo, Mexico — on the left, 61 km away1,610 km · ≈ 2 h 05 min into the flight
  11. Mexicali, Mexico — on the left, 35 km away2,190 km · ≈ 2 h 45 min into the flight
  12. San Gorgonio Mountain, 3,505 m — on the right, 15 km away2,390 km · ≈ 3 h 00 min into the flight
  13. Los Angeles, United States — on the left, 70 km away2,490 km · ≈ 3 h 05 min into the flight
  14. Below: Great Basin2,530 km · ≈ 3 h 10 min into the flight
  15. Below: Sierra Nevada2,570 km · ≈ 3 h 10 min into the flight
  16. Below: Central Valley2,650 km · ≈ 3 h 20 min into the flight
  17. Below: Pacific Coast Ranges2,760 km · ≈ 3 h 25 min into the flight
  18. Junipero Serra Peak, 1,787 m — on the left, 52 km away2,870 km · ≈ 3 h 35 min into the flight
  19. San Jose, United States — on the right, 30 km away2,980 km · ≈ 3 h 40 min into the flight
  20. Pacific Ocean — 8,060 km without land3,040 km · ≈ 3 h 45 min into the flight
  21. San Francisco, United States — on the right, 44 km away3,040 km · ≈ 3 h 45 min into the flight
  22. Below: Japan10,830 km · ≈ 12 h 40 min into the flight
  23. Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC+910,980 km · ≈ 12 h 50 min into the flight
  24. Sendai, Japan — on the right, 31 km away11,060 km · ≈ 13 h 00 min into the flight
  25. Below: Honshu11,100 km · ≈ 13 h 00 min into the flight
  26. Land again11,100 km · ≈ 13 h 00 min into the flight
  27. Niigata, Japan — on the right, 91 km away11,220 km · ≈ 13 h 10 min into the flight
  28. Mount Tate, 3,015 m — on the right, 44 km away11,400 km · ≈ 13 h 20 min into the flight
  29. Nagoya, Japan — on the left, 45 km away11,550 km · ≈ 13 h 30 min into the flight
  30. Landing at Osaka Itami International Airport11,680 km · ≈ 13 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 Osaka

Osaka
Osaka · Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Flight time and distance

About 13 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.

7,260 miles (11,680 km, 6,310 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC−6Mexico City
1,440 kmUTC−7Hermosillo
10,980 kmUTC+9Tokyo

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.

  • Mexico
  • Los Angeles
  • Oakland
  • Oakland Oceanic
  • Anchorage
  • Tokyo Oceanic
  • Fukuoka
  • Kobe

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from Mexico City to Osaka?

Along the shortest route, the flight from Mexico City to Osaka covers 7,260 miles (11,680 km) — about 13 h 55 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Mexico, the United States and Japan. It crosses the Pacific Ocean: 69% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−6 and land on UTC+9.

What countries do you fly over from Mexico City to Osaka?

It passes over or close to Mexico, the United States and Japan, and crosses the Pacific Ocean. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from Mexico City to Osaka?

About 13 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 Mexico City from Osaka by plane?

7,260 miles (11,680 km, 6,310 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?

69% of the route, about 8,060 km. The longest stretch without land is 8,060 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: Osaka → Mexico City

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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