The short answer
Yes. Every departure and arrival time on a ticket, a booking confirmation or an airport screen is the local time at that airport. The departure time is the clock where you take off; the arrival time is the clock where you land. That's why a flight can look like it takes 3 hours, or 20, on paper: the clocks at each end are set differently.
Both times are local, each to its own airport
Airlines, booking sites and airports all follow the same convention: a time belongs to the place it describes. "Departs 10:30" means 10:30 on the clocks at the departure airport. "Arrives 13:25" means 13:25 on the clocks at the arrival airport. Nobody converts anything for you, and nothing is shown in your home time zone unless an app has been told to.
When you see the phrase "all times are local" on a ticket or an itinerary, that's all it means: each time is in the time zone of the place it refers to.
It's the right system once you know it. On the day, the arrival time is exactly what the clock on the wall will say when you land, which is what you need to know to book a taxi or tell someone when to meet you.
Why flight times look wrong
The confusion starts when you subtract one time from the other. Because the two clocks are in different time zones, the gap between them isn't how long you'll be in the air. A few typical schedules show the effect:
| Route | Departs (local) | Arrives (local) | Looks like | Really |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London → New York | 10:30 | 13:25 | 3 hours | About 8 hours |
| New York → London | 19:00 | 07:05 +1 | 12 hours | About 7 hours |
| Sydney → Los Angeles | 11:30 | 06:35 same day | Arrives before it left | About 14 hours |
| Paris → Rome | 09:15 | 11:20 | 2 hours | About 2 hours (same time zone) |
These are illustrative timings rather than any airline's timetable, but the pattern holds everywhere. Flying east, you lose hours, so the arrival time runs ahead. Flying west, you gain them, so a long flight can land at a time that looks almost like it left. Cross the International Date Line heading east, as on Sydney to Los Angeles, and you can land on the calendar day before the one you set off.
How to work out how long a flight really is
The quickest way is to look for the duration. Most booking confirmations and airline apps print it next to the times ("8h 05m"), and that figure is already corrected for the time zones. If it isn't there:
- Find the time difference between the two airports.
New York is usually five hours behind London. Check for the dates you're flying, because the two places change their clocks for summer on different weekends.
- Put both times on the same clock.
Convert the arrival time back into departure time, or both into UTC. 13:25 in New York is 18:25 in London.
- Subtract.
18:25 minus 10:30 is 7 hours 55 minutes in the air, gate to gate.
That number matters most for the day you fly: how hungry the children will be, when to sleep, and how much charge you need in the tablet.
What +1, +2 and −1 mean
A small "+1" next to an arrival time means you land on the next calendar day, local time at the destination. "+2" means two days later, which happens on long journeys with connections. "−1" means you arrive on the calendar day before you left, which only happens crossing the date line eastward. We've written a full guide to +1 and overnight flights, including how to put an overnight flight in your itinerary without losing a night's hotel.
Connecting flights
Each leg of a connection follows the same rule. The first leg's arrival time and the second leg's departure time are both in the connecting airport's local time, so working out your layover is easy: it's simply the gap between those two times. A flight landing in Dubai at 19:40 with an onward departure at 22:05 gives you 2 hours 25 minutes, all on Dubai's clock.
Where it goes wrong: calendars and phones
The airline doesn't get flight times wrong. Mix-ups usually come from software trying to help.
- Calendar apps convert times. If you add a flight to a calendar with a time zone attached, the calendar shows it in whatever zone your phone is in. Add a 13:25 New York arrival while you're in London and your calendar may show 18:25, which is right for London and wrong for the taxi waiting in New York.
- Phones switch time zone on arrival. That's useful, but it means an appointment saved with a time zone moves on screen when you land.
- Email confirmations sometimes add events automatically, and not always in the zone you'd expect.
The fix is to keep your itinerary in what developers call floating local time: the time exactly as printed on the ticket, with no time zone attached. "Dinner at 7:30pm" on Tuesday in Rome stays 7:30pm, whichever country your phone is in when you read it. Your phone adopts the local time when you arrive, so once you're there, the plan and the clock agree.
When a country changes its clocks for summer while you're away, airline times are still the local time on the day. A flight that departs at 10:00 the morning after the clocks go forward still departs when the local clock says 10:00. It's your phone alarm you need to check.
Flight trackers and airline apps
Airline apps and airport departure boards show local time. Some flight-tracking websites let you choose between the flight's local time and your own, and remember whichever you picked last, so if a tracker's times look an hour or five off, check its settings before you worry.
Questions people ask
Is the arrival time on my ticket in local time?
Yes. The arrival time is the local time at the airport you land at, so it's what the clocks there will say when you arrive. The departure time is the local time where you take off.
What does "all times are local" mean on a flight itinerary?
It means each time is given in the time zone of the place it refers to: departures in the departure airport's time, arrivals in the arrival airport's time. Nothing is shown in your home time zone.
Why does my flight arrive before it leaves?
Because you're flying west across enough time zones, or east across the International Date Line, that the local clock at your destination is behind the one you left. Sydney to Los Angeles, for example, can land on the calendar day before it departed.
Is boarding time local time?
Yes. Boarding time, like departure time, is the local time at the departure airport. Gates usually close 15 to 20 minutes before departure, so treat the boarding time as the time to be at the gate.
How do I find out how long my flight really is?
Look for the duration printed on your booking, which already accounts for time zones. If it isn't shown, convert the arrival time into the departure airport's time and subtract.
