How Long Is the Flight to Italy?

Quick answer: the flight to Italy (Rome Fiumicino) is about 8 h 40 min in the air from New York and 12 h 41 min from Los Angeles, non-stop; a connection adds its layover. Of the busiest US airports, Boston is the closest at 8 h 19 min and Los Angeles the farthest at 12 h 41 min. Flying home from New York JFK is 46 min longer.

Pick two airports. See the distance, about how long a non-stop flight takes, and what time it will be when you land.

JFK → LHR · non-stop

7 h 11 minAbout 7 h 11 min gate to gate for 3,442 miles (5,540 km). Most scheduled flights of this length: 6 h 56 min to 7 h 26 min.

Distance: 3,442 mi
Lands: pick a date and time

The flight back, westbound into the jet stream, is slower: about 7 h 48 min.
An estimate from the scheduled times of 5,797 US routes (US DOT, 2026-06): half of them are within 7 minutes of it. Your airline’s schedule is the real answer.

Airports from OurAirports, time zones from mwgg/Airports, flight times fitted on US DOT schedules. An estimate for a non-stop: check your airline.

The calculator above opens on New York to Rome Fiumicino: change either airport to yours, or add a date and a departure time for the local time you land. Below, the flight from each of the busiest US airports.

How long is the flight to Italy from each US airport?

The FAA’s busiest US airports by passengers in 2024, the quickest first. Times are the estimated gate-to-gate time of a non-stop; the clock change is Italy’s time minus the airport’s, in January and in July.

From	Distance	To Rome Fiumicino	Flight back	Clock change (Jan / Jul)
Boston (BOS)	4,082 mi	8 h 19 min	9 h 4 min	+6 h / +6 h
New York JFK (JFK)	4,267 mi	8 h 40 min	9 h 26 min	+6 h / +6 h
Newark (EWR)	4,282 mi	8 h 42 min	9 h 28 min	+6 h / +6 h
Detroit (DTW)	4,615 mi	9 h 20 min	10 h 7 min	+6 h / +6 h
Charlotte (CLT)	4,801 mi	9 h 41 min	10 h 31 min	+6 h / +6 h
Chicago O’Hare (ORD)	4,811 mi	9 h 42 min	10 h 30 min	+7 h / +7 h
Minneapolis (MSP)	4,889 mi	9 h 52 min	10 h 38 min	+7 h / +7 h
Atlanta (ATL)	5,024 mi	10 h 6 min	10 h 58 min	+6 h / +6 h
Orlando (MCO)	5,109 mi	10 h 16 min	11 h 10 min	+6 h / +6 h
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)	5,157 mi	10 h 21 min	11 h 16 min	+6 h / +6 h
Miami (MIA)	5,176 mi	10 h 23 min	11 h 19 min	+6 h / +6 h
Denver (DEN)	5,550 mi	11 h 8 min	11 h 56 min	+8 h / +8 h
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)	5,601 mi	11 h 12 min	12 h 6 min	+7 h / +7 h
Houston (IAH)	5,670 mi	11 h 20 min	12 h 15 min	+7 h / +7 h
Seattle (SEA)	5,673 mi	11 h 27 min	12 h 3 min	+9 h / +9 h
Las Vegas (LAS)	6,113 mi	12 h 14 min	13 h 2 min	+9 h / +9 h
Phoenix (PHX)	6,151 mi	12 h 17 min	13 h 8 min	+8 h / +9 h
San Francisco (SFO)	6,250 mi	12 h 32 min	13 h 15 min	+9 h / +9 h
Los Angeles (LAX)	6,340 mi	12 h 41 min	13 h 28 min	+9 h / +9 h

12 of these routes are longer than any US route the estimate was measured on (4,983 miles), so treat those as a rough guide: the longer the flight, the more the wind moves it. LaGuardia, the 19th busiest, is left out: its flights are short-haul, and New York’s long flights leave from JFK and Newark.

Why the flight home is longer

From New York JFK the flight to Rome Fiumicino is about 8 h 40 min and the flight back 9 h 26 min. The difference is the jet stream, the band of west-to-east wind at cruising height: flying east you ride it, flying west you fly into it. The estimate carries that as a single measured effect of how far east a route goes, which is why the two directions of the same route differ.

What the clock says when you land

Italy is 6 hours ahead of New York and 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles all year. Leave New York JFK at noon on Wednesday, July 15, and a non-stop would land in Rome Fiumicino at about 2:40 a.m. the next day, Thursday, local time.

Flying into another airport

This page measures to Rome Fiumicino (FCO). To Milan Malpensa (MXP) it is about 8 h 10 min from New York and 12 h 5 min from Los Angeles; to Venice (VCE) it is about 8 h 28 min from New York and 12 h 20 min from Los Angeles.

Is there a non-stop?

Which US airports fly to Italy non-stop changes with the airlines’ schedules, so this page does not list them: Which US cities offer direct flights to Italy? does. For any pair of airports, the calculator above gives the distance and the time.

Plan it

Best Airlines to Fly to Italy in 2023: Your Ticket to Pasta Paradise

FAQ

How long is the flight to Italy?

About 8 h 40 min non-stop from New York and 12 h 41 min from Los Angeles. Of the busiest US airports, Boston is the closest at 8 h 19 min and Los Angeles the farthest at 12 h 41 min. All are estimates of a non-stop; a connection adds its layover.

How long is the flight to Italy from New York?

About 8 h 40 min from JFK and 8 h 42 min from Newark, for 4,267 miles to Rome Fiumicino. The flight back to New York is 46 min longer: about 9 h 26 min.

How long is the flight to Italy from Los Angeles?

About 12 h 41 min from LAX, and 12 h 32 min from San Francisco, for 6,340 miles. The flight back is 47 min longer: about 13 h 28 min.

What is the time difference between Italy and the US?

Italy is 6 hours ahead of New York and 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles all year.

Is there a direct flight to Italy?

From some US cities, yes — which ones changes with the airlines’ schedules, so this page does not list them. Our post Which US cities offer direct flights to Italy? does, and your airline’s schedule is the final word.

How these times are made

Distances are great circles between the airports (OurAirports). Times come from one line fitted to the median scheduled gate-to-gate time of 5,797 US routes (US DOT, 2026-06): a fixed allowance, a time per mile, and a correction for how far east the route goes. Half of those routes are within 7 minutes of it. The busiest airports are the FAA’s 2024 passenger boardings. Your airline’s schedule is the real answer: winds, routings and the season move it by a few minutes on a short flight and by more on a long one.