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Flying from London to Atlanta?

Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.

About this route

LondonAtlanta

A long flight from United Kingdom to United States. Set your watch back 5 hours on arrival.

Route type International
Distance 6,761 km / 4,201 mi
Distance class Long-haul
Direction West-southwest
Est. duration About 9h 15m
Time change Destination -5h

Departing from

LHR

London Heathrow Airport

Location London, United Kingdom
Time zone GMT+1 · UTC+1
Current time

A capital of villages

London is a vast, low-slung capital that grew by absorbing villages, so it reads as dozens of distinct neighborhoods rather than one grid. The Underground and a dense rail network make it a transit city at heart; in the center a car is a liability, discouraged by narrow streets and the congestion charge. The landmarks and business districts cluster in the middle, but much of London is the high streets and parks further out. It is large, so crossing town takes longer than the map suggests.

City access

Heathrow is the main airport, west of London and among the busiest in Europe. It has a fast dedicated rail link to the center and is also on the Underground, so reaching the city without a car is straightforward. Allow extra time at peak hours, both on the roads and through its large terminals.

Nearby airports

41 km / 25 mi

Surrounding hubs

449 km / 279 mi
243 km / 151 mi
348 km / 216 mi

Arriving at

ATL

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Location Atlanta, United States
Time zone EDT · UTC−4
Current time

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

936 km / 582 mi
365 km / 227 mi
651 km / 405 mi
How it works

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.

01

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.

02

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.

03

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 →

Latest journal

Notes from the product.

Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.