Sydney to Johannesburg flight path
Along the shortest route, the flight from Sydney to Johannesburg covers 6,850 miles (11,020 km) — about 13 h 10 min with no wind. It crosses Great Australian Bight and the Indian Ocean: 88% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+11 and land on UTC+2.
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From Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) to O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) · SYD · JNB
- Great-circle distance
- 11,020 km
- Duration, no wind
- 13 h 10 min
- Over water
- 88 %
- 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 Sydney to Johannesburg?
- Australia
- South Africa
- Great Australian Bight
- Indian Ocean
Which side of the plane to sit on to see Mount Kosciuszko
To see Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m), sit on the left: it lies about 47 km from the route, ≈ 40 min into the flight.
- Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) ≈ 40 min
- Mount Bogong (1,986 m) ≈ 45 min
- Mount Buller (1,805 m) ≈ 55 min
- Durban ≈ 12 h 20 min
- Newcastle ≈ 12 h 40 min
- Canberra ≈ 30 min
- Melbourne ≈ 1 h 05 min
- Geelong ≈ 1 h 10 min
- Richards Bay ≈ 12 h 25 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 Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport
- Below: Great Dividing Range73 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
- Canberra, Australia — on the right, 5 km away239 km · ≈ 30 min into the flight
- Below: Australian Alps257 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
- Mount Kosciuszko, 2,228 m — on the left, 47 km away382 km · ≈ 40 min into the flight
- Mount Bogong, 1,986 m — on the left, 18 km away468 km · ≈ 45 min into the flight
- Mount Buller, 1,805 m — on the left, 9 km away558 km · ≈ 55 min into the flight
- Melbourne, Australia — on the right, 11 km away706 km · ≈ 1 h 05 min into the flight
- Geelong, Australia — on the right, 13 km away770 km · ≈ 1 h 10 min into the flight
- Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean — 9,700 km without land882 km · ≈ 1 h 15 min into the flight
- Durban, South Africa — on the left, 103 km away10,540 km · ≈ 12 h 20 min into the flight
- Local time below changes: UTC+11 to UTC+210,550 km · ≈ 12 h 20 min into the flight
- Richards Bay, South Africa — on the right, 51 km away10,550 km · ≈ 12 h 25 min into the flight
- Below: Drakensberg10,580 km · ≈ 12 h 25 min into the flight
- Land again10,580 km · ≈ 12 h 25 min into the flight
- Newcastle, South Africa — on the left, 10 km away10,780 km · ≈ 12 h 40 min into the flight
- Below: Witwatersrand10,950 km · ≈ 12 h 50 min into the flight
- Landing at O.R. Tambo International Airport11,020 km · ≈ 12 h 55 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 Johannesburg
Flight time and distance
About 13 h 10 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.
6,850 miles (11,020 km, 5,950 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+11 | Sydney |
| 10,550 km | UTC+2 | Johannesburg |
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.
- Melbourne (Bindook) 129.8* (133.15)
- Melbourne (Wollongong) 125.0
- Melbourne (Benalla) 132.2
- Melbourne (Huon) 122.6
- Melbourne (Alice Springs) 128.85
- Brisbane Radio (Indian) 129.25
- Johannesburg Oceanic
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg Oceanic
- Johannesburg
FAQ
Where does the plane fly from Sydney to Johannesburg?
Along the shortest route, the flight from Sydney to Johannesburg covers 6,850 miles (11,020 km) — about 13 h 10 min with no wind. It crosses Great Australian Bight and the Indian Ocean: 88% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+11 and land on UTC+2.
What countries do you fly over from Sydney to Johannesburg?
It passes over or close to Australia and South Africa, and crosses Great Australian Bight and the Indian Ocean. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.
How long is the flight from Sydney to Johannesburg?
About 13 h 10 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 Sydney from Johannesburg by plane?
6,850 miles (11,020 km, 5,950 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?
88% of the route, about 9,740 km. The longest stretch without land is 9,700 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: Johannesburg → Sydney
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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.