The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 3:07 am CDT (08:07 UTC)

Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain Airport to John F Kennedy International MSP → JFK

892 nautical miles (1,026 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 100°, about 100° magnetic at the departure end (variation 0E). At 120 knots that is 5 h 13 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 51-knot tailwind), arriving about 9:20 am EDT (13:20 UTC). For planning, not a briefing: the legal preflight briefing comes from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF) or the FAA's own tools. Airlines fly this pair: 2,579 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.

The return flight

The route the straight line, the warnings crossed, restrictions, pilot reports and the airports along the way · click a mark for its words

Green, blue, red and purple airport dots are the flying conditions reported there now (VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, low IFR); grey means no report. Red areas are SIGMETs, orange areas AIRMETs, hatched red areas temporary flight restrictions. Map tiles: OpenFreeMap, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Warnings the route crosses SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area the line passes through or comes within 25 nm of

  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Over the route from 89 to 337 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist, fog). Over the last 495 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 4E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 644 to 812 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 21,000 ft to 33,000 ft. Over the last 99 nm of the route.

A SIGMET warns of weather hazardous to all aircraft; an AIRMET of weather that matters to small aircraft and to flying without instruments. "From 60 to 180 nm out" is measured along the route from MSP.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

Not fetched just now.

Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 02:00–09:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed

The eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 9 forecast points nearest it (MSP, LSE, GRB, MKG, CLE, BUF, PSB, AVP, JFK). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft260° at 16 kt−14 kt134 kt6 h 39 min10:46 am EDT (14:46 UTC)
5,500 ft290° at 12 kt−12 kt13 °C132 kt6 h 45 min10:52 am EDT (14:52 UTC)
7,500 ft290° at 11 kt−12 kt11 °C132 kt6 h 45 min10:52 am EDT (14:52 UTC)
9,500 ft290° at 11 kt−11 kt8 °C131 kt6 h 49 min10:56 am EDT (14:56 UTC)
11,500 ft280° at 11 kt−11 kt5 °C131 kt6 h 49 min10:56 am EDT (14:56 UTC)
13,500 ft280° at 13 kt−13 kt0 °C133 kt6 h 42 min10:49 am EDT (14:49 UTC)
15,500 ft290° at 17 kt−17 kt-4 °C137 kt6 h 31 min10:38 am EDT (14:38 UTC)
17,500 ft290° at 21 kt−21 kt-9 °C141 kt6 h 20 min10:27 am EDT (14:27 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180290° at 22 kt−22 kt-10 °C142 kt6 h 17 min10:24 am EDT (14:24 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240280° at 27 kt−26 kt-21 °C146 kt6 h 07 min10:14 am EDT (14:14 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300290° at 35 kt−35 kt-36 °C155 kt5 h 45 min9:52 am EDT (13:52 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340280° at 41 kt−41 kt-44 °C161 kt5 h 32 min9:39 am EDT (13:39 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390290° at 52 kt−51 kt-51 °C171 kt5 h 13 min9:20 am EDT (13:20 UTC)

Based on data from the 12th at 00:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 06:00 UTC for use 02:00 to 09:00 UTC; temperatures above 24,000 ft are below zero. Heights are above sea level; a height is left out when the forecast has no wind for it over most of the line (the ground is higher). Ground speed is the airspeed less the headwind; the time en route is for the straight line and ignores climb, descent and routing around weather.

The forecast points as issued
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
MSPused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line230/26240/30 17°240/24 12°250/22 5°250/35 -10°260/36 -21°250/41 -36°250/49 -45°260/58 -52°
LSEused from 50 nm out; 48 nm from the line230/40240/24 17°240/13 10°250/13 6°280/22 -9°250/28 -21°250/41 -34°260/42 -44°270/62 -53°
GRBused from 149 nm out; 49 nm from the line250/36270/23 16°270/14 9°240/18 4°280/26 -9°280/29 -20°290/42 -36°290/51 -45°290/72 -55°
MKGused from 248 nm out; 57 nm from the line260/22290/16 15°300/11 10°290/5 3°300/26 -9°300/32 -20°320/48 -36°320/61 -45°310/74 -53°
CLEused from 446 nm out; 104 nm from the line340/7010/16 13°350/18 8°350/20 3°340/31 -10°340/46 -21°340/54 -37°330/62 -44°340/65 -49°
BUFused from 545 nm out; 81 nm from the line320/10010/16 10°360/10 6°340/13 2°330/22 -11°300/25 -23°320/31 -38°300/29 -44°280/36 -50°
PSBused from 693 nm out; 60 nm from the line360/13 13°330/14 7°300/11 3°290/12 -11°240/23 -23°270/25 -36°250/34 -40°250/45 -48°
AVPused from 743 nm out; 27 nm from the line150/5350/13 12°270/20 8°260/17 4°260/25 -11°240/31 -22°240/54 -35°230/61 -41°240/55 -49°
JFKused from 842 nm out; 25 nm from the line250/18250/23 14°240/33 9°240/33 4°240/38 -10°240/45 -21°230/86 -32°230/102 -40°230/84 -51°

The weather now: both ends and the airports along the way public airports with a weather report within 25 nm of the line, one for each stretch

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
MSP Minneapolis, MN departure no report just now 841 ft
EAU Eau Claire, WI 69 nm out, 13 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 913 ft
CWA Mosinee, WI 149 nm out, 23 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 1,277 ft
ATW Appleton, WI 208 nm out, 5 nm northwest of the line, tower no report just now 918 ft
RQB Big Rapids, MI 337 nm out, 4 nm northeast of the line no report just now 994 ft
MBS Saginaw, MI 406 nm out, 11 nm north of the line, tower no report just now 668 ft
CYZR Sarnia, 485 nm out, 1 nm north of the line no report just now 594 ft
ERI Erie, PA 594 nm out, 22 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 732 ft
ELZ Wellsville, NY 684 nm out, 12 nm north of the line no report just now 2,124 ft
AVP Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA 793 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 961 ft
MMU Morristown, NJ 862 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower no report just now 186 ft
JFK New York, NY destination no report just now 13 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 2,124 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At JFK when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:20 am EDT (13:20 UTC)

JFK has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.

Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it

  • 6/6656 ANOKA, MN, Monday, October 5, 2026 through Monday, October 19, 2026 Local 19 nm from the route, at the departure end · security · until 19 October · ZMP
  • 5/2811 NEW YORK, NY, Monday, October 20, 2025 through Tuesday, October 20, 2026 Local 3 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · until 20 October · ZNY

Daylight

Sunset at MSP 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC), at JFK 6:19 pm EDT (22:19 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:47 pm EDT (22:47 UTC)).

Each restriction opens the FAA's own page with the exact area, heights and times. Ordinary notices to air missions (closed runways, lights out) are not shown: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time.

Radar and forecast charts for the regions crossed government pictures, the latest each time the page loads

Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the central Great Lakes
Radar now, the central Great Lakes · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the Northeast
Radar now, the Northeast · loop National Weather Service
Radar, the whole country
Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service
Surface analysis now
Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

Sources: the Aviation Weather Center's data service (SIGMETs, AIRMETs, graphical AIRMETs, pilot reports, winds and temperatures aloft, observations and terminal forecasts), the National Weather Service radar, the Weather Prediction Center's charts, the FAA's temporary flight restriction list and shapes, and the FAA's airport file for the positions, elevations and magnetic variation. Fetched when the page is viewed and kept a few minutes. Each leg is the straight line between its two airports; airways, terrain and airspace are not considered. The airports in detail: Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain Airport, John F Kennedy International.