Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA)?
On this route the shady side depends on the date as well as the time of day. Add a departure date to see yours.
Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA)?
On this route the shady side depends on the date as well as the time of day. Add a departure date to see yours.
Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA)?
On this route the shady side depends on the date as well as the time of day. Add a departure date to see yours.
Atlanta → Miami
A short flight within United States. Same local time zone at both ends.
Capital of the New South
Atlanta sprawls across a wooded plateau in north Georgia, a fast-growing, low-rise metro where the suburbs run far past the core. It is a driving city: traffic on the perimeter highway is a daily fact of life, and rail covers only part of the region. Downtown holds the business district and civil-rights history, but much of the city lives in scattered neighborhoods and edge towns, so distances are large and the car usually wins.
Surrounding hubs
| 655 km / 407 mi | |
| 880 km / 547 mi | |
| 928 km / 577 mi |
The Magic City
Miami is a low, flat city wrapped around Biscayne Bay, with the Atlantic and its barrier-island beaches on one side and the Everglades not far to the west. It is really several cities at once: the beach strip, the mainland business core, and a patchwork of distinct, often Latin American neighborhoods that give Miami its bilingual rhythm. Heat, humidity, and a real hurricane season shape the calendar more than in most US cities. The city is built for the car; transit exists but rarely beats driving, so expect traffic to be part of any plan.
Nearby airports
| 34 km / 21 mi |
Surrounding hubs
| 379 km / 235 mi | |
| 855 km / 531 mi | |
| 1,049 km / 652 mi |
Find out which side of the plane to sit on.
Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.
We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.
Enter your flight
Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.
We track the sun along your route
Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.
You get a recommendation
Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.
Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →
Notes from the product.
Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.
Over the top, and other ways to fly

FlightSide now has Explore, a map of popular flights grouped by the path they fly, and a Guide with step-by-step walkthroughs for checking, sharing and using FlightSide offline.
Type less, wait less, wonder more
Airport search now understands metro codes and old city names, FlightSide loads noticeably faster, and a new Feeling lucky button chooses a flight for anyone without one in mind.
A closer look at the route, not just the seat
FlightSide now shows the two cities and key details about the flight alongside the seat recommendation: confirm you picked the right airports, read the time change off two clocks, and check the return leg.