Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Mexico City (MEX) to Cancun (CUN)?
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 Mexico City (MEX) to Cancun (CUN)?
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 Mexico City (MEX) to Cancun (CUN)?
On this route the shady side depends on the date as well as the time of day. Add a departure date to see yours.
Mexico City → Cancun
A short flight within Mexico. Cancun is 1 hour ahead. Turn your watch forward before you arrive.
The capital on a former lake
Mexico City was built atop the drained bed of Lake Texcoco, the site of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, and the soft former lakebed still causes parts of the city to sink unevenly each year. The Metro's Line 5 reaches a station a short walk from Terminal 1, the airport's cheapest and most direct public option, though Terminal 2 requires an extra connection. Sitting at over 2,200 meters (7,200 feet), the altitude can be noticeable to visitors, and the surrounding mountains trap smog on still days. It's one of the largest metro areas on Earth, and beyond the rail network's reach, traffic is a serious daily reality.
Surrounding hubs
| 1,510 km / 938 mi | |
| 1,771 km / 1,100 mi | |
| 1,910 km / 1,187 mi |
The gateway to the Riviera Maya
Cancun is a purpose-built resort city on the Yucatan Peninsula's Caribbean coast, with a compact hotel zone strung along a narrow barrier island separate from the older downtown. There's no rail link to the airport; buses, shuttles, and taxis cover the roughly 20- to 40-minute trip to the hotel zone depending on traffic and which end you're headed to. It's flat, hot, and humid year-round, with a hurricane season running June through November. Most visitors base themselves in the hotel zone or nearby beach towns rather than the city center, which sits inland and sees comparatively few tourists.
Surrounding hubs
| 855 km / 531 mi | |
| 884 km / 549 mi | |
| 887 km / 551 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.