Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Madrid (MAD) to Lisbon (LIS)?
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 Madrid (MAD) to Lisbon (LIS)?
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 Madrid (MAD) to Lisbon (LIS)?
On this route the shady side depends on the date as well as the time of day. Add a departure date to see yours.
Madrid → Lisbon
A short flight from Spain to Portugal. You gain 1 hour on arrival.
The heart of Spain
Madrid sits high and dry on Spain's central plateau, a wide, grid-and-boulevard capital with no coast and a continental climate of hot summers and cold winters. It is one of Europe's more transit-friendly capitals: an extensive metro plus commuter rail covers the city and reaches the airport directly, and the historic core is easy to walk. Spanish life runs late, with dinner and the evening rhythm starting well after dark by other European standards. A car is rarely useful inside the city center.
Surrounding hubs
| 432 km / 268 mi | |
| 483 km / 300 mi | |
| 543 km / 337 mi |
The city of seven hills
Lisbon climbs a series of steep hills above the Tagus River estuary, a sun-bleached, tile-covered city with vintage trams that double as both transit and tourist attraction. The metro reaches the airport directly, unusually close to the center for a European capital, and much of the old city is walkable, if hilly enough to test the legs. Light, warm weather runs most of the year, milder and sunnier than the rest of northern Europe. Fado music and a slower pace give the city a different rhythm from its bigger Iberian neighbor, Madrid.
Nearby airports
| 221 km / 137 mi |
Surrounding hubs
| 470 km / 292 mi | |
| 618 km / 384 mi | |
| 804 km / 500 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.