Flight time from San Francisco to Nairobi

How long is the flight from San Francisco to Nairobi?

A non-stop flight from San Francisco to Nairobi takes about 19 hours and 10 minutes. The two cities are 15,457 km (9,605 miles) apart in a straight line, measured between San Francisco International (SFO) and Jomo Kenyatta (NBO).

This is one of the longest routes in the world. Only a few airlines fly it non-stop; most trips include a stopover, which adds anything from 2 to 10 hours to the total journey.

The estimate assumes an average speed of about 830 km/h plus around 35 minutes for taxiing, take-off and landing. Real schedules vary with the airline, aircraft, route and winds – heading east with the jet stream, flights are often a little quicker than this. Check your booking for the exact time.

Time difference and arrival time

Nairobi is 11 hours ahead of San Francisco right now. A flight leaving San Francisco at 10:00 local time lands at about 16:10 local time in Nairobi the next day. With a 11h shift, expect some jet lag: as a rough guide the body adjusts by about an hour a day, and flying east (as on this trip) is usually harder than the other way.

Current time in San Francisco · Current time in Nairobi · Flight time from Nairobi to San Francisco

More flights from San Francisco

• San Francisco to Los Angeles 1h 15m
• San Francisco to Vancouver 2h 10m
• San Francisco to Chicago 4h 10m
• San Francisco to Mexico City 4h 15m
• San Francisco to Toronto 4h 55m
• San Francisco to Cancún 5h 15m
• San Francisco to Mumbai 16h 50m
• San Francisco to Singapore 16h 55m
• San Francisco to Kuala Lumpur 17h
• San Francisco to Jakarta 17h 25m

More flights from Nairobi

• Nairobi to Johannesburg 4h 5m
• Nairobi to Doha 4h 35m
• Nairobi to Cairo 4h 50m
• Nairobi to Dubai 4h 50m
• Nairobi to Mumbai 6h 5m
• Nairobi to Athens 6h 5m
• Nairobi to Cancún 16h 55m
• Nairobi to Auckland 17h 20m
• Nairobi to Vancouver 17h 55m
• Nairobi to Mexico City 18h 25m

Why arrival times look strange

Airline schedules always show local times: departure in the departure city’s time and arrival in the arrival city’s time. Fly east and you “lose” hours – a 7-hour flight from New York to London leaving at 19:00 lands at 07:00 the next morning. Fly west and you gain them, which is how you can land in Los Angeles almost at the same clock time you left Tokyo. This calculator handles the time zones and daylight saving time for you.

How the flight time estimate works

In estimate mode the calculator measures the great-circle distance between the two cities – the shortest route over the Earth’s surface – and assumes an average speed of about 830 km/h (515 mph), plus around 35 minutes for taxiing, take-off and landing. That gives a good guide for a non-stop flight. Real schedules vary with the airline, aircraft, winds and route: flights heading east with the jet stream are often quicker than the same trip heading west, so always check your booking for the exact time.