Can You See Greenland Ice Sheet From a Plane? Best Seat Side Guide

117 flight routes pass within 500 km of Greenland Ice Sheet. Find out which side of the plane has the best views.

The Greenland Ice Sheet covers 80% of the world's largest island in a thick ice cap. A standard sight on transatlantic flights, the sheer scale of the white expanse — punctuated by dark nunataks and coastal fjords — is awe-inspiring.

Routes that pass it117

SEA BER Seattle to Berlin · 15 km Right DEL YYZ Delhi to Toronto · 24 km Right YYZ DEL Toronto to Delhi · 24 km Left DEL YKZ Delhi to Toronto · 36 km Right YKZ DEL Toronto to Delhi · 36 km Left YVR EFL Vancouver to Keffallinia · 36 km Left PRG SEA Prague to Seattle · 41 km Right YXD BUD Edmonton to Budapest · 42 km Left CCU JFK Calcutta to New York · 53 km Right YVR VIE Vancouver to Vienna · 75 km Right CAI SFO Cairo to San Francisco · 77 km Right PDX PRG Portland to Prague · 82 km Left CPH SFO Copenhagen to San Francisco · 102 km Right SFO CPH San Francisco to Copenhagen · 102 km Left LHE YYZ Lahore to Toronto · 107 km Right CPH SEA Copenhagen to Seattle · 109 km Left SEA CPH Seattle to Copenhagen · 109 km Right CPH BFI Copenhagen to Seattle · 111 km Left ORD BOM Chicago to Bombay · 112 km Right IST SFO Istanbul to San Francisco · 115 km Left LHE ATL Lahore to Atlanta · 115 km Right SFO IST San Francisco to Istanbul · 115 km Right LAX OSL Los Angeles to Oslo · 117 km Left OSL LAX Oslo to Los Angeles · 117 km Right RKE SFO Copenhagen to San Francisco · 125 km Right LGA KTM New York to Kathmandu · 133 km Left MUC YVR Munich to Vancouver · 134 km Right YVR MUC Vancouver to Munich · 134 km Left YYZ MAA Toronto to Madras · 144 km Left CPH YXX Copenhagen to Abbotsford · 147 km Left YDQ AMS Dawson Creek to Amsterdam · 163 km Left YTZ MAA Toronto to Madras · 167 km Left BWA PHL Bhairawa to Philadelphia · 174 km Right PHL BWA Philadelphia to Bhairawa · 174 km Left BUD SFO Budapest to San Francisco · 178 km Right BUD YVR Budapest to Vancouver · 178 km Left LAX TLV Los Angeles to Tel-aviv · 178 km Left HNL LHR Honolulu to London · 211 km Right FRA YVR Frankfurt to Vancouver · 212 km Right YVR FRA Vancouver to Frankfurt · 212 km Left MUC SEA Munich to Seattle · 219 km Right LAX GOT Los Angeles to Gothenborg · 226 km Left SEA ADB Seattle to Izmir · 233 km Right IST LAX Istanbul to Los Angeles · 234 km Right LAX IST Los Angeles to Istanbul · 234 km Left SFO TLV San Francisco to Tel-aviv · 240 km Right DBV YEG Dubrovnik to Edmonton · 242 km Right SEA OSL Seattle to Oslo · 248 km Right OSL BFI Oslo to Seattle · 249 km Left HEL CDC Helsinki to Cedar City · 256 km Left SEA AEY Seattle to Akureyri · 265 km Left AMS YVR Amsterdam to Vancouver · 274 km Right YVR AMS Vancouver to Amsterdam · 274 km Left DEN ARN Denver to Stockholm · 278 km Left SEA CAI Seattle to Cairo · 285 km Right SFO VIE San Francisco to Vienna · 285 km Left FRA BFI Frankfurt to Seattle · 291 km Right LAX MJF Los Angeles to Mosjoen · 291 km Right FRA SEA Frankfurt to Seattle · 294 km Right SEA FRA Seattle to Frankfurt · 294 km Left LAX KSC Los Angeles to Kosice · 312 km Left YVR ZRH Vancouver to Zurich · 312 km Left ZRH YVR Zurich to Vancouver · 312 km Right NID CPH China to Copenhagen · 319 km Left CPH LAX Copenhagen to Los Angeles · 330 km Right LAX CPH Los Angeles to Copenhagen · 330 km Left FRA PDX Frankfurt to Portland · 338 km Right PDX FRA Portland to Frankfurt · 338 km Left AMS BFI Amsterdam to Seattle · 349 km Right BFI AMS Seattle to Amsterdam · 349 km Left AMS SEA Amsterdam to Seattle · 351 km Right SEA AMS Seattle to Amsterdam · 351 km Left DEL YUL Delhi to Montreal · 362 km Right YUL DEL Montreal to Delhi · 362 km Left CMH IXG Columbus to Belgaum · 372 km Left ODE BFL Odense to Bakersfield · 374 km Right IAD DEL Washington to Delhi · 385 km Left YYZ AMD Toronto to Ahmedabad · 386 km Left AMS PDX Amsterdam to Portland · 393 km Right PDX AMS Portland to Amsterdam · 393 km Left RNO HEW Reno to Athens · 393 km Left SEA IST Seattle to Istanbul · 393 km Right YVR WAW Vancouver to Warsaw · 401 km Right HEL LAX Helsinki to Los Angeles · 403 km Left LAX HEL Los Angeles to Helsinki · 403 km Right KUL BOS Kuala Lumpur to Boston · 406 km Left LAS KSC Las Vegas to Kosice · 406 km Left YQY BKK Sydney to Bangkok · 409 km Left ORD CMB Chicago to Colombo · 420 km Right DEL DCA Delhi to Washington · 422 km Right SEA FLR Seattle to Firenze · 422 km Left AMS YEG Amsterdam to Edmonton · 424 km Right YEG AMS Edmonton to Amsterdam · 424 km Left CIA SEA Rome to Seattle · 430 km Right CPH CDC Copenhagen to Cedar City · 440 km Right RKV YVR Reykjavik to Vancouver · 441 km Right JFK HKT New York to Phuket · 443 km Right YYC FRA Calgary to Frankfurt · 445 km Left FCO SEA Rome to Seattle · 446 km Right SEA FCO Seattle to Rome · 446 km Left YVR GLA Vancouver to Glasgow · 453 km Left WAW PHX Warsaw to Phoenix · 455 km Right BLL LAX Billund to Los Angeles · 460 km Right DFW HEL Dallas-fort Worth to Helsinki · 467 km Left HEL DFW Helsinki to Dallas-fort Worth · 467 km Right SEA MXP Seattle to Milano · 467 km Left KEF YVR Keflavik to Vancouver · 468 km Right YVR KEF Vancouver to Keflavik · 468 km Left DFW HEM Dallas-fort Worth to Helsinki · 469 km Left RKV SEA Reykjavik to Seattle · 474 km Right SEA RKV Seattle to Reykjavik · 474 km Left SFO SZG San Francisco to Salzburg · 477 km Left ORD HYD Chicago to Hyderabad · 479 km Right AMS YYC Amsterdam to Calgary · 486 km Right YYC AMS Calgary to Amsterdam · 486 km Left NAG PIE Nagpur to St. Petersburg · 494 km Right KEF BFI Keflavik to Seattle · 500 km Right

Tip: Visibility depends on cloud cover, time of day, and how close the flight path comes. Sit on the listed side for the best chance of a view. Morning and evening flights often offer the best lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see Greenland Ice Sheet from a plane?

Yes — 117 flight routes pass within 500 km of Greenland Ice Sheet. The closest routes include Seattle to Berlin, Delhi to Toronto, Toronto to Delhi. Sit on the Right side, with the landmark passing about 15 km away.

Which side of the plane is best for viewing Greenland Ice Sheet?

The best side varies by route. For the most common routes near Greenland Ice Sheet: on a Seattle to Berlin flight, sit on the Right side; on a Delhi to Toronto flight, sit on the Right side; on a Toronto to Delhi flight, sit on the Left side.