What Countries Will I Fly Over?
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LondonSingapore
Take-off: over United Kingdom
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Poland
- Belarus
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
- Tajikistan
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan
- India
- Thailand
- Malaysia
Worked out along the great circle, the shortest path between the two airports, at an average cruising speed. Real flights follow airways and winds and steer around closed airspace, so on some routes (around Russia, North Korea or conflict zones, for example) the countries actually flown over are different.
That is one route. Your map holds all of them.
My Flight Routes turns every flight you have taken into a single interactive map, with your own stats, milestones and a replay of everywhere you have been. Start it with this one.
Free, and you can start without an account.
Somewhere over the middle of a long flight, the map on the seatback screen says you are above a country you never planned to visit. Put in a route and this shows every country under the shortest path between the two airports, in order, with roughly when you reach each one and how long you stay above it.
How it works
- Pick the departure and arrival airports. The route updates as soon as both are set, and the link in the address bar shares it.
- The great circle between them is walked a few kilometres at a time and every point is matched against the world's country borders.
- Drag the slider to move the aircraft along the route and see what is below it at each moment, or tap a country in the list to jump to it.
Surprising routes
The shortest path between two airports is a curve on a flat map, and it crosses some unexpected places:
- London to Los Angeles passes over Greenland, and Frankfurt to San Francisco over Iceland as well.
- Zurich to Bangkok crosses 20 countries in about 9,000 km, with almost no open water.
- Perth to London crosses 18 countries after the long stretch over the Indian Ocean.
- Sydney to Dallas has the longest run of open water here: about 15 hours with no land below.
- The shortest path from Amsterdam to Seoul crosses North Korea, which airlines route around in practice.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my flight go so far north?
Because the Earth is round. The shortest path between two points on a sphere is a great circle, which on a flat map bends towards the nearest pole. That is why flights from Europe to the west coast of the United States cross Greenland and Canada.
Is this the exact route my flight will take?
It is the shortest path, which is what most flights follow closely. Real routes follow airways, use the winds of the day and avoid closed airspace, so some flights, especially between Europe and Asia since Russian airspace closed to many airlines, take a longer way round.
Do airlines pay to fly over other countries?
Yes. Most countries charge overflight fees for air navigation services in their airspace, usually based on the distance flown and the weight of the aircraft. It is one of the reasons the cheapest route is not always the shortest one.
Does flying over a country count as visiting it?
No. Passing over a country, or even changing planes in its airport without going through passport control, is not usually counted as a visit. It does make for a good story.
Why are some small countries missing?
The borders are drawn at a resolution that keeps the page fast, so the very smallest states (Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City) are only a few points each and a route passing close by may not register them.
Look out of the window at the right moment.