Transatlantic flight

Flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean

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Transatlantic flight
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Overview

What happened

On May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, at Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, after completing the first solo non-...

Date

May 21, 1927

Location

Le Bourget Field, Paris, France

Key people

Charles Lindbergh

Why it matters

This article provides a detailed account of Charles Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic flight, including the challenges he faced and the significance of his achievement.

What was Transatlantic flight?

A transatlantic flight (TATL) is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, South America, or vice versa. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons and other aircraft. The distance of contemporary flights varies between 3,000km (East Canada to Ireland) to 15,000km (New York to Singapore). Early aircraft engines had neither the reliability nor the power to lift the required fuel to support transatlantic flight. There were difficulties navigating over the featureless expanse of water for thousands of kilometres, and the weather, especially in the North Atlantic, is unpredictable. Since the middle of the 20th century, however, transatlantic flight has become routine, for commercial, military, diplomatic, and other purposes.

Transatlantic flight
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Transatlantic flight cover Transatlantic flight Joshua Stoff · 1999 Water Jump cover Water Jump David Beaty · 1976 Brighton Boys in Transatlantic Flight James Driscoll · 2017 "We," cover "We," Charles A. Lindbergh · 1927 Our transatlantic flight cover Our transatlantic flight Alcock, John Sir · 1969
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Background and consequences

Journey times between North America and Europe have reduced from several days by ship to several hours by jet airliner. The modern commercial market is particularly strong on routes between North America and the larger European economies, including 3 million annual passengers between the global cities of New York and London.

Flown picture postcard from the "First North American Flight" of the D-LZ127 (1928)
Flown picture postcard from the "First North American Flight" of the D-LZ127 (1928)
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Related on thisDay

Witness Lindbergh's Historic Landing — May 21, 1927

Charles Lindbergh's 33.5-hour solo flight ended on May 21, 1927, at Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, with a historic landing.

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Date article: Witness Lindbergh's Historic Landing — May 21, 1927Wikipedia source
Cite this page
MLA

“Transatlantic flight.” thisDay, thisday.info/history/transatlantic-flight/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

APA

Transatlantic flight. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://thisday.info/history/transatlantic-flight/

Chicago

“Transatlantic flight.” thisDay. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://thisday.info/history/transatlantic-flight/.

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