Fast trans-Atlantic travel was only possible if one could take a Concorde aircraft, which would get you over the Ocean in 3 and a half hours. The Concorde has long been decommissioned, but it seems that for a brief moment super speedy passage over the Atlantic ocean was possible again. Thanks to Storm Ciara herself!
Flights over the Atlantic can last between 7 and 8 hours, depending on the weather conditions and the speed of the aircraft. Some planes were in luck, however, as they benefited from the stormy wind given by Storm Ciara, as NOS reports.
Record-breaking flight over the Atlantic
A flight from the British Airways managed yesterday to break a record of speed on the route between New York and London, . It managed to make the normally long flight in just 4 hours and 56 minutes.
Met storm Ciara in de rug kon je vannacht in minder dan 5 uur van New York naar Londen vliegen. Doe je normaal 7/8 uur over! pic.twitter.com/ftVmDVEmzR
— Tim de Wit (@timdewit) February 9, 2020
Another British flight, on the route between Boston and London, managed to finish the flight in only 4 hours and 47 minutes, a record-breaker for that route also.
Some KLM flights were lucky to ride with the storm too. KLM Flight 644 managed to get from New York to Amsterdam one and a half hours before its scheduled arrival.
Breaking: @KLM flight 644 reached an incredible ground speed of 819 mph — faster than the speed of sound — over Newfoundland on Friday night. ✈️
The Boeing 747 was flying in an extremely strong 260 mph jet stream! Thanks to Captains Bakker and Best! pic.twitter.com/Rs9ggzP5cK
— Matthew Cappucci (@MatthewCappucci) February 8, 2020
Jet stream aiding the fast flights
The main reason why these planes have managed to cross the Atlantic so fast is because of a weather phenomenon known as the jet stream. They are fast-flowing and narrow air currents located high in the atmosphere, and they are often taken into consideration by airlines. If a plane follows a jet stream, not only does it get to its destination faster, it also cuts down on fuel costs. Of course, as you might have noticed, all these flights were going from west to east. If a plane would now try to fly towards New York from Amsterdam, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it took 12 hours.
Excited for the storm to come? Send us any footage you find on DutchReview.
Feature Image: ThePixelman/Pixabay
