Does the Earth's rotation affect flight time?

Flying from Auckland to Santiago takes about eleven hours. Coming home takes closer to thirteen. The explanation everyone reaches for is that the Earth spins eastward, so on the way east the destination comes to meet you, and on the way back you have to chase it. This is wrong, and it is wrong in a way I find genuinely satisfying, because the thing people are blaming turns out to be responsible after all. Just not for the reason they think. ...

July 10, 2026 · 10 min · Nathan Broadbent