Do flights that travel against the direction of the earths rotation arrive at their destination more quickly?
The overriding assumption here is that there are no other mitigating circumstances that would alter the speed of your airplane traveling westward (ie: headwinds, constant acceleration and airspeed, etc.). If there are none, then one would have to assume that, yes, the earth’s rotation beneath you would allow you to arrive earlier when traveling westward and later when traveling east. However, travel within the Earth’s atmosphere is not the same as traveling within a vacuum. So, it’s not likely that such an absolute would remain a fact. And, finally, too many other factors delay travel or increase speed in either direction (air traffic, tailwinds, thunderstorms, air traffic control, etc.).
Related Questions
- Do flights that travel against the direction of the earths rotation arrive at their destination more quickly?
- Is there a theoretical maximum possible speed an aircraft could travel on Earth due to air resistance?
- Will a aircraft flying in the same direction of the earths rotation reach a destination faster?
