Airplanes traveling eastward are faster than those heading west, even over the same distance. The reason for this intriguing phenomenon is explained here.
Why Do Flights to the East Take Less Time Than Flights to the West?
Have you ever noticed that flights covering the same distance but departing and arriving at different points have varying flight durations, even though their speeds are nearly identical?
The rotational speed varies at different points on Earth.
To understand this, let’s delve into the rotational speed of the Earth. At the equator, this speed is about 1,670 km/h; however, at a latitude of 45 degrees, it drops to around 1,180 km/h, and at the North Pole, it is 0 km/h.
This means that everything on the ground, and the air layer above the equator, also moves at a speed of 1,670 km/h due to the Earth’s rotation.
The influence of air currents also plays a role.
Therefore, when an airplane takes off heading east, in the same direction as the Earth’s rotation, it is moving in the same direction as that rotation. This means the airplane’s speed of 160 km/h (the takeoff speed) is added to the Earth’s rotational speed of 1,670 km/h, providing a slight speed advantage that results in a shorter travel time.
