Cosmic radiation on flights from New York (JFK) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)

Reverse: Dallas-Fort Worth → New York

A flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport at 35,000 ft, about 3 h 8 min in the air, receives about 0.0111 mSv (11.1 µSv) of cosmic radiation: about a tenth of a chest X-ray. That is the FAA's CARI-7 model run for this route with the solar conditions of August 2026.

Updated · solar conditions of August 2026

Dose
11.1 µSv0.0111 mSv
Time in the air
3 h 8 minestimated
Dose rate
3.5 µSv/haverage, 35,000 ft
Chest X‑rays
0.11at 0.1 mSv each

Key facts: JFK → DFW

Dose, standard flight0.0111 mSv (11.1 µSv)
Time in the air3 h 8 min, estimated from distance and prevailing winds
Cruise altitude35,000 ft
Average dose rate3.5 µSv/h
Great-circle distance2,235 km (1,389 mi)
Furthest from the equator40.6°N
Solar conditionsAugust 2026

The standard flight is CARI-7, the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute's model, run on the dev machine for this route: 35,000 ft, 3 h 8 min in the air (climb 25 min, cruise 146 min, descent 17 min), effective dose per ICRP Publication 103. How it's calculated.

JFKDFW
Great-circle route, shaded from 3.2 µSv/h to 3.7 µSv/h. Shading is modelled from the monthly dose-rate grid; totals are CARI-7.

How the sun changes the dose on JFK → DFW

The sun's 11-year cycle moves this number. With the same 3 h 8 min at 35,000 ft, the flight would have received 0.0135 mSv in April 2020, when the sun was quiet and more galactic cosmic rays reached the atmosphere, and 0.00879 mSv in January 2026, near solar maximum: 53% more at the quiet end. In August 2026 it is 0.0111 mSv.

Dose for this flight at 35,000 ft, quarterly
0 µSv5 µSv10 µSv15 µSv20162018202020222024202613.5 µSv8.79 µSv11.1 µSv
0 µSv5 µSv10 µSv15 µSv20162020202413.5 µSv8.79 µSv11.1 µSv
The numbers behind the chart
MonthDoseDose
January 201612.1 µSv0.0121 mSv
April 201612.4 µSv0.0124 mSv
July 201612.3 µSv0.0123 mSv
October 201612.7 µSv0.0127 mSv
January 201712.8 µSv0.0128 mSv
April 201713.1 µSv0.0131 mSv
July 201712.9 µSv0.0129 mSv
October 201712.8 µSv0.0128 mSv
January 201813 µSv0.013 mSv
April 201813.3 µSv0.0133 mSv
July 201813.2 µSv0.0132 mSv
October 201813.5 µSv0.0135 mSv
January 201912.9 µSv0.0129 mSv
April 201913.4 µSv0.0134 mSv
July 201913.3 µSv0.0133 mSv
October 201913.4 µSv0.0134 mSv
January 202013.4 µSv0.0134 mSv
April 202013.5 µSv0.0135 mSv
July 202013.4 µSv0.0134 mSv
October 202013.4 µSv0.0134 mSv
January 202113 µSv0.013 mSv
April 202113.4 µSv0.0134 mSv
July 202113.2 µSv0.0132 mSv
October 202113.2 µSv0.0132 mSv
January 202213 µSv0.013 mSv
April 202212.8 µSv0.0129 mSv
July 202211.9 µSv0.0119 mSv
October 202212.2 µSv0.0122 mSv
January 202311.3 µSv0.0112 mSv
April 202311.4 µSv0.0114 mSv
July 202310.8 µSv0.0108 mSv
October 202310.8 µSv0.0108 mSv
January 202410.2 µSv0.0102 mSv
April 202410.5 µSv0.0105 mSv
July 202410.6 µSv0.0106 mSv
October 20249.3 µSv0.0093 mSv
January 20259.62 µSv0.00962 mSv
April 20259.64 µSv0.00964 mSv
July 20259.53 µSv0.00953 mSv
October 20259.77 µSv0.00977 mSv
January 20268.79 µSv0.00879 mSv
April 20269.93 µSv0.00993 mSv
July 202610.6 µSv0.0106 mSv
August 202611.1 µSv0.0111 mSv

How cruise altitude changes the dose

Flown at 31,000 ft instead, the same flight would receive 0.00805 mSv, 27% less than at 35,000 ft; at 41,000 ft it would receive 0.0159 mSv, 44% more. Same route, same time in the air, same month: only the air overhead changes.

Dose for this flight by cruise altitude, August 2026
  • 31,000 ft8.05 µSv
  • 33,000 ft9.51 µSv
  • 35,000 ft11.1 µSv
  • 37,000 ft12.7 µSv
  • 39,000 ft14.3 µSv
  • 41,000 ft15.9 µSv

Try it: change the altitude and the month

Every combination is its own CARI-7 run for JFK → DFW, with the same 3 h 8 min in the air. It is still a standard flight, not yours: the app calculates your exact flight.

Every combination as a table (µSv)
AltitudeJan 2016Jan 2017Jan 2018Jan 2019Jan 2020Jan 2021Jan 2022Jan 2023Jan 2024Jan 2025Jan 2026Aug 2026
31,000 ft8.769.39.419.359.689.429.48.197.477.036.448.05
33,000 ft10.41111.211.111.511.211.19.678.818.297.589.51
35,000 ft12.112.81312.913.4131311.310.29.628.7911.1
37,000 ft13.814.714.914.815.414.914.912.911.7111012.7
39,000 ft15.716.716.916.817.416.916.914.613.212.411.314.3
41,000 ft17.518.618.918.819.518.918.916.314.713.812.515.9

The return flight: DFW → JFK

DFW → JFK receives 0.00941 mSv at 35,000 ft, 15% less than JFK → DFW, over about 2 h 44 min in the air against 3 h 8 min. The return is 24 min shorter: its track runs with the prevailing westerly winds at cruise altitude. Cosmic radiation builds up with every minute aloft, so the longer direction collects more of it along the same path.

Dose for each direction, standard flight
  • JFK → DFW11.1 µSv
  • DFW → JFK9.41 µSv

Cosmic radiation on Dallas-Fort Worth → New York flights

What 11.1 µSv compares with

Compared withIts doseThis flight is
Chest X-Ray0.1 mSvabout a tenth of a chest X-ray
Dental X-Ray0.005 mSvabout 2.2 dental X-rays
Background Radiation (Daily)0.008 mSvabout a day's natural background radiation
Mammogram0.4 mSvabout 3% of a mammogram
Head CT Scan2 mSvabout 1% of a head CT scan
Eating a Banana0.0001 mSvabout 111 bananas

The comparison values are the ones the FlightDose app uses.

Why your flight will differ

  • Altitude. Flown at 31,000 ft instead, the same flight would receive 0.00805 mSv, 27% less than at 35,000 ft; at 41,000 ft it would receive 0.0159 mSv, 44% more. Same route, same time in the air, same month: only the air overhead changes.
  • Time in the air. Every extra 30 minutes on this route adds about 1.8 µSv. Headwinds, holding and routing change it by tens of minutes on a long flight.
  • The month. The sun's 11-year cycle swings this route's dose by about 53% between quiet and active years.
  • The track. Airlines fly tracks that bend with the jet stream, not the exact great circle; a track further from the equator collects more.
  • Solar storms. A rare solar radiation storm can add to the dose for hours; CARI-7's monthly figures don't include one.

FlightDose calculates your exact flight.

Your date, your altitude, your time in the air, with live space weather, and a running total against the limits that matter to you.

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