Flights from East to West Take Longer Time

An American Airlines plane in flight. (photo credit: REUTERS)
An American Airlines plane in flight. (photo credit: REUTERS)
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Flights from East to West Take Longer Time

An American Airlines plane in flight. (photo credit: REUTERS)
An American Airlines plane in flight. (photo credit: REUTERS)

In a familiar phenomenon for passengers who traveled on long-distance flights, traveling from east to west takes longer than the trip itself in the opposite direction. Why? The rotation of the earth in the opposite direction of the clock makes part of the interpretation.

Markus Wahl from the German pilots' association (Vereinigung Cockpit) says: "Generally, at higher altitudes, wind often comes from the west, which is associated with the Earth's rotation."

Air currents from the equator to the poles are affected by the rotation of the Earth. Flights to the west usually face winds in the opposite direction, while flights to the east run in the same direction as the wind. These winds are also called jet streams, according to the German news agency.

"Normally eastward flights benefit from winds, because these favorable winds are the strongest," says Wahl.

Jet streams also affect short-distance flights, although the effect is too small, and causes a minor difference. "This effect often goes unnoticed amid the regular delays, that’s why you do not feel it as a passenger," Wahl says.



Tangled Humpback Whale Sparks Rescue Mission off Australia

This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)
This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)
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Tangled Humpback Whale Sparks Rescue Mission off Australia

This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)
This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)

Wildlife rescue teams scoured Australia's east coast on Monday to find and free a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope.

Aerial footage showed the whale swimming south of Sydney Harbor trailing a rope attached to a floating buoy.

"It makes it more difficult for the whale to dive," said Pip Jacobs from whale rescue group ORRCA.

"It's tiring for the whale, which is already in a state of distress being tangled."

The whale was about eight meters (25 feet) long, Jacobs said, indicating it was still "quite young".

The rope appeared to be tangled around the whale's left pectoral fin, she said.

"The way it is moving is quite erratic," Jacobs told AFP.

"It's moving south which is unusual.

"They should be heading north as part of their migration."

Teams of volunteers and wildlife rescue experts were searching the coastline to pinpoint the whale's location, she said.

But efforts had been hindered by choppy waters and blustery winds.

"If conditions allow and we have eyes on the whale, the best-case scenario is we have a successful disentanglement.

"If they are dragging gear, it hinders their ability to swim freely. The worst-case scenario is the whale can't feed or swim."