Antipodal Flight Route: Jakarta–Bogota

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Jakarta & Bogota are a near antipodal pair: the opposite points on Earth’s surface. We can fly from Jakarta in any direction and arrive at Bogota after traveling a similar distance, irrespective of the direction we leave Jakarta.

Any flight between an antipodal pair has a similar duration even though the different flights have different directions. This fact is only consistent with spherical Earth and cannot possibly be explained if Earth is flat.

For example, on a flat Earth, the flight route of Jakarta–Hong Kong–New York–Bogota is almost a straight route between the two locations. Meanwhile, the Jakarta–Sydney–Auckland–Santiago–Bogota route involves a massive detour, and it should take much longer than the aforementioned straight route. However, contrary to what is expected in the flat Earth model, both routes have a similar flight duration.

Flight Durations

  • Jakarta–Istanbul–Bogota: 12h 0m + 13h 45m = 25.75 hours
  • Jakarta–Hong Kong–New York–Bogota: 5h 5m + 16h 0m + 5h 42m = 26.783 hours
  • Jakarta–Tokyo–Houston–Bogota: 7h 35m + 12h 5m + 4h 55m = 24.583 hours
  • Jakarta–Sydney–Auckland–Santiago–Bogota: 6h 55m + 3h 5m + 11h 0m + 6h 14m = 27.23 hours

Antipodal Flight: Shanghai–Buenos Aires

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Shanghai, China and Buenos Aires, Argentina are a near antipodal pair. Both are located at the diametrically opposite points to each other on Earth’s surface. Therefore, we can fly from Buenos Aires in any direction and arrive in Shanghai after traveling a roughly similar distance, regardless of the course taken.

Any flight between an antipodal pair has a similar duration even though the different flights have different directions. This fact is only consistent with spherical Earth and cannot possibly be explained if Earth is flat.

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