Flight Distance (Haversine Formula)
Enter origin and destination latitude and longitude in degrees for the great-circle distance in km, taking Earth's mean radius as 6371 km.
Distância (km)
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Great circle flight distance: the Haversine formula
A flight tracks the great circle, the shortest geodesic over the sphere, rather than the straight line you'd draw on a flat map. To find the distance between two points on a sphere you reach for the Haversine formula: d = 2R · asin(√(sin²(Δφ/2) + cos φ₁ · cos φ₂ · sin²(Δλ/2))), with R ≈ 6371 km as Earth's mean radius, φ the latitude and λ the longitude. A couple of examples: GRU (São Paulo) to JFK (New York) comes out to ≈ 7,681 km, and GIG (Rio) to LIS (Lisbon) to ≈ 7,700 km. A Boeing 787-9 ranges about 14,000 km, so it covers either one without breaking a sweat.
Applications
It comes in handy for aviation planning (FAA, ANAC, ICAO), estimating frequent flyer miles, weighing flight options between hubs, and quick back-of-the-envelope route checks. Keep in mind that the actual flown distance often runs 3–10% longer: real routes stick to airways, steer clear of conflict zones, route around volcanic ash and bad weather, and play the jet streams, with eastbound flights frequently bending their path to catch a tailwind.
FAQ
Why doesn't the route look straight on a flat map? Mercator projections bend the lines. Spin a globe instead and you'll see the great circle from NY to Tokyo arcing up near the Arctic, which is the whole reason polar routes exist.
How precise is Haversine? For most flights it lands within about 0.5%. Earth is really an ellipsoid rather than a perfect sphere, and Vincenty's formula accounts for that, but it's far more than civil aviation needs.
What's the difference between nautical miles and km? One NM equals 1.852 km. Aviation and maritime stick with NM by international convention.
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The results provided by this tool are for general informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute professional, financial, medical, legal, tax or accounting advice. Always confirm important decisions with a qualified professional and official sources.