MS985 distance and great-circle path
MS985 covers 9,016 km, or 5,602 miles. That makes it an ultra-long-haul flight, near the limit of what most twinjets can fly non-stop. Of the 439 routes we track, it ranks 111 by distance.
The plane leaves Cairo heading north-west. On the map above, the line looks curved. That is normal. The shortest path over a round planet never looks straight on a flat screen. Our guide explains how the CAI-JFK route appears on a tracker map.
Why MS985 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 11.9 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 757 km/h. A Boeing 787-9 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.
Flying west, this route pushes against the wind. The trip back east is usually shorter, even though the distance is the same. See how high-altitude winds behave in our guide to turbulence and jet streams.
Can the Boeing 787-9 comfortably fly MS985?
Not really. It uses about 64% of the Boeing 787-9's range. That leaves room for a full load of passengers and bags. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Boeing 787-9.
What to know about MS985
- Time change: you land 7 hours behind the time you left. That is enough to cause jet lag. Here is how pilots handle it.