Transatlantic Flights Where You Arrive Before You Depart

Flights that arrive before they leave have always been fascinating, with the most famous examples involving the Concorde. For instance, BA001 left Heathrow at 10:30 and arrived at New York JFK at 09:25 local time, while AF002 departed Paris CDG at 10:15 and arrived at 08:15. While such instances are common for short-haul flights, they are rarer for long-haul journeys, including transatlantic flights.

Using Cirium data to analyze all scheduled summer passenger services from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and other regions to the Americas, only three transatlantic routes meet the criteria of arriving before departure. These routes collectively have 81 departures (each way) between July 1 and September 21, making such time-traveling flights extremely rare—fewer than one in 1,000 transatlantic flights.

The following table lists transatlantic airport pairs where flights arrive no more than 60 minutes after taking off (local time). This analysis covers all flights between July and September. While many additional pairs arrive 61 to 75 minutes after departure, they are excluded for clarity. The inclusion of Greenland, despite its turboprop flights, adds an interesting dimension to this list.

These unique flights offer an intriguing travel experience, highlighting the fascinating quirks of aviation and time zones.