How Long Is the Flight to Jamaica?
Quick answer: the flight to Jamaica (Montego Bay) is about 3 h 50 min in the air from New York and 5 h 46 min from Los Angeles, non-stop; a connection adds its layover. Of the busiest US airports, Miami is the closest at 1 h 49 min and Seattle the farthest at 6 h 40 min. Flying home from New York JFK is about the same.
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 Montego Bay: 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 Jamaica 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 Jamaica’s time minus the airport’s, in January and in July.
| From | Distance | To Montego Bay | Flight back | Clock change (Jan / Jul) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (MIA) | 526 mi | 1 h 49 min | 1 h 51 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 542 mi | 1 h 51 min | 1 h 53 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Orlando (MCO) | 719 mi | 2 h 11 min | 2 h 14 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 1,120 mi | 2 h 56 min | 3 h 1 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 1,169 mi | 3 h 3 min | 3 h 6 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,352 mi | 3 h 18 min | 3 h 32 min | +1 h / ±0 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 1,547 mi | 3 h 40 min | 3 h 55 min | +1 h / ±0 |
| New York JFK (JFK) | 1,549 mi | 3 h 50 min | 3 h 47 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,549 mi | 3 h 50 min | 3 h 47 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,669 mi | 4 h | 4 h 4 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Chicago O’Hare (ORD) | 1,725 mi | 4 h 5 min | 4 h 12 min | +1 h / ±0 |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,698 mi | 4 h 9 min | 4 h 3 min | ±0 / −1 h |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 2,025 mi | 4 h 37 min | 4 h 48 min | +1 h / ±0 |
| Denver (DEN) | 2,171 mi | 4 h 49 min | 5 h 9 min | +2 h / +1 h |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 2,341 mi | 5 h 6 min | 5 h 32 min | +2 h / +2 h |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 2,567 mi | 5 h 31 min | 5 h 59 min | +3 h / +2 h |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 2,705 mi | 5 h 46 min | 6 h 17 min | +3 h / +2 h |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 2,980 mi | 6 h 16 min | 6 h 49 min | +3 h / +2 h |
| Seattle (SEA) | 3,193 mi | 6 h 40 min | 7 h 12 min | +3 h / +2 h |
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 shorter
From New York JFK the flight to Montego Bay is about 3 h 50 min and the flight back 3 h 47 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 a route that runs mostly north–south, like this one, comes out about even both ways.
What the clock says when you land
Jamaica is on the same time as New York in January and 1 hour behind New York in July, when US clocks are on summer time; 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles in January and 2 hours ahead of Los Angeles in July. Leave New York JFK at noon on Wednesday, July 15, and a non-stop would land in Montego Bay at about 2:50 p.m. the same day, local time.
Flying into another airport
This page measures to Montego Bay (MBJ). To Kingston (KIN) it is about 3 h 53 min from New York and 5 h 55 min from Los Angeles.
Is there a non-stop?
Not from every airport in the table: the times are what a non-stop would take, and a connection adds its layover. Your airline’s schedule says which airports fly to Jamaica non-stop. For any pair of airports, the calculator above gives the distance and the time.
Plan it
- Is Jamaica worth visiting?
- 18 Unique Things to Do in Jamaica
- When to go: the best months for the weather
FAQ
How long is the flight to Jamaica?
About 3 h 50 min non-stop from New York and 5 h 46 min from Los Angeles. Of the busiest US airports, Miami is the closest at 1 h 49 min and Seattle the farthest at 6 h 40 min. All are estimates of a non-stop; a connection adds its layover.
How long is the flight to Jamaica from New York?
About 3 h 50 min from JFK and 3 h 50 min from Newark, for 1,549 miles to Montego Bay. The flight back to New York is about the same: about 3 h 47 min.
How long is the flight to Jamaica from Los Angeles?
About 5 h 46 min from LAX, and 6 h 16 min from San Francisco, for 2,705 miles. The flight back is 31 min longer: about 6 h 17 min.
What is the time difference between Jamaica and the US?
Jamaica is on the same time as New York in January and 1 hour behind New York in July, when US clocks are on summer time; 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles in January and 2 hours ahead of Los Angeles in July.
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.