MODO AVIÓN

Valencia to Tijuana flight path

VLC → TIJVLCTIJ
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 Valencia to Tijuana covers 6,010 miles (9,680 km) — about 11 h 35 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Spain, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Bay of Biscay, 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 Valencia Airport (VLC) to General Abelardo L. Rodriguez International Airport (TIJ) · VLC · TIJ

VLCValencia
TIJTijuana
Great-circle distance
9,680 km
Duration, no wind
11 h 35 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 Valencia to Tijuana?

  • Spain
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Bay of Biscay
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Labrador Sea
  • Hamilton Inlet

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 116 km from the route, ≈ 10 h 00 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Carabanchel ≈ 35 min
  • Madrid ≈ 35 min
  • Latina ≈ 35 min
  • Valladolid ≈ 45 min
  • A Coruña ≈ 1 h 10 min
  • Longs Peak (4,346 m) ≈ 9 h 50 min
  • Mount Elbert (4,402 m) ≈ 10 h 00 min
  • Mount Peale (3,877 m) ≈ 10 h 15 min
  • Mexicali ≈ 11 h 15 min
Right window
  • Torre Cerredo (2,648 m) ≈ 50 min
  • Gijón ≈ 1 h 00 min
  • San Gorgonio Mountain (3,505 m) ≈ 11 h 15 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+2Bay of BiscayIberian PeninsulaLabradorLaurentian UplandRocky MountainsMount Elbert 4,402 m 116 kmLongs Peak 4,346 m 64 kmMount Peale 3,877 m 16 kmSan Gorgonio Mountain 3,505 m 111 kmMexicali 95 kmGijón 76 kmA Coruña 71 kmVLCTIJ▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC−3UTC−4UTC−5UTC−6UTC−7Bay of BiscayIberian PeninsulaLabradorLaurentian UplandRocky MountainsCarabanchel100 km off routeMadrid97 km off routeLatina102 km off routeValladolid42 km off routeA Coruña71 km off routeLongs Peak4,346 m · 64 kmMount Elbert4,402 m · 116 kmMount Peale3,877 m · 16 kmMexicali95 km off routeTorre Cerredo2,648 m · 86 kmGijón76 km off routeSan Gorgonio Mountain3,505 m · 111 kmVLCTIJUTC+2

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from Valencia Airport
  2. Below: Iberian Peninsula0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Carabanchel, Spain — on the left, 100 km away276 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
  4. Madrid, Spain — on the left, 97 km away277 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
  5. Latina, Spain — on the left, 102 km away278 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
  6. Valladolid, Spain — on the left, 42 km away430 km · ≈ 45 min into the flight
  7. Torre Cerredo, 2,648 m — on the right, 86 km away543 km · ≈ 50 min into the flight
  8. Below: Cantabrian Mountains581 km · ≈ 55 min into the flight
  9. Gijón, Spain — on the right, 76 km away618 km · ≈ 1 h 00 min into the flight
  10. Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Ocean — 3,770 km without land774 km · ≈ 1 h 10 min into the flight
  11. A Coruña, Spain — on the left, 71 km away785 km · ≈ 1 h 10 min into the flight
  12. Local time below changes: UTC+2 to UTC−34,450 km · ≈ 5 h 20 min into the flight
  13. Below: Labrador4,550 km · ≈ 5 h 30 min into the flight
  14. Below: Canadian Shield4,740 km · ≈ 5 h 40 min into the flight
  15. Local time below changes: UTC−3 to UTC−45,160 km · ≈ 6 h 10 min into the flight
  16. Below: Laurentian Upland6,900 km · ≈ 8 h 10 min into the flight
  17. Local time below changes: UTC−4 to UTC−56,900 km · ≈ 8 h 10 min into the flight
  18. Below: Central Lowlands7,230 km · ≈ 8 h 35 min into the flight
  19. Below: Great Plains7,480 km · ≈ 8 h 50 min into the flight
  20. Local time below changes: UTC−5 to UTC−67,870 km · ≈ 9 h 20 min into the flight
  21. Below: Rocky Mountains8,230 km · ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight
  22. Below: Front Range8,320 km · ≈ 9 h 50 min into the flight
  23. Longs Peak, 4,346 m — on the left, 64 km away8,350 km · ≈ 9 h 50 min into the flight
  24. Mount Elbert, 4,402 m — on the left, 116 km away8,490 km · ≈ 10 h 00 min into the flight
  25. Below: Colorado Plateau8,520 km · ≈ 10 h 00 min into the flight
  26. Mount Peale, 3,877 m — on the left, 16 km away8,720 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  27. Below: Grand Canyon9,000 km · ≈ 10 h 35 min into the flight
  28. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−79,000 km · ≈ 10 h 35 min into the flight
  29. Below: Great Basin9,350 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  30. Below: Sonoran Desert9,390 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  31. San Gorgonio Mountain, 3,505 m — on the right, 111 km away9,540 km · ≈ 11 h 15 min into the flight
  32. Mexicali, Mexico — on the left, 95 km away9,570 km · ≈ 11 h 15 min into the flight
  33. Landing at General Abelardo L. Rodriguez International Airport9,680 km · ≈ 11 h 20 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 35 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.

6,010 miles (9,680 km, 5,230 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
4,450 kmUTC−3Goose Bay
5,160 kmUTC−4Toronto
6,900 kmUTC−5Chicago
7,870 kmUTC−6Denver
9,000 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.

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

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from Valencia to Tijuana?

Along the shortest route, the flight from Valencia to Tijuana covers 6,010 miles (9,680 km) — about 11 h 35 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Spain, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Bay of Biscay, 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 Valencia to Tijuana?

It passes over or close to Spain, the United States and Mexico, and crosses the Bay of Biscay, 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 Valencia to Tijuana?

About 11 h 35 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 Valencia from Tijuana by plane?

6,010 miles (9,680 km, 5,230 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 3,900 km. The longest stretch without land is 3,770 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 → Valencia

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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