📍 Scene Setup
The school's international trip departs tonight, but the airport's departure board has crashed. Josh has the flight data on paper, but he needs to manually calculate every local arrival time before the gates close.
Six flights. Six clocks. One rule: East = add, West = subtract.
🕐 UTC Reference Card
Brisbane / AEST
UTC +10
Tokyo
UTC +9
Dubai
UTC +4
London
UTC +0
New York
UTC −5
Los Angeles
UTC −8
1
Flight 1, Brisbane to London
It is 18:00 in Brisbane (UTC+10). What time is it right now in London (UTC+0)?
Enter as 24-hour time, e.g. 9 for 09:00, 22 for 22:00
Enter the hour in 24-hour format (e.g. 8 for 08:00)
💡 London is west of Brisbane. West = subtract. 18:00 − 10 hours = ?
✅ 08:00 in London. Brisbane leads London by 10 hours, so subtract 10.
2
Flight 2, London to Tokyo
It is 10:00 in London (UTC+0). What time is it in Tokyo (UTC+9)?
Tokyo is east of London
Enter the hour in 24-hour format
💡 Tokyo is east of London. East = add. 10:00 + 9 hours = ?
✅ 19:00 in Tokyo. Tokyo is 9 hours ahead of London.
3
Flight 3, Brisbane to Tokyo (with flight time)
A flight departs Brisbane (UTC+10) at 14:00. The flight takes 9 hours. What is the local arrival time in Tokyo (UTC+9)?
Step 1: Convert departure to UTC. Step 2: Add flight time. Step 3: Convert to Tokyo local time.
✅ 22:00 Tokyo time. UTC departure 04:00 → 13:00 UTC arrival → +9 for Tokyo = 22:00.
4
Flight 4, London to Dubai (with flight time)
A flight departs London (UTC+0) at 06:00. The flight takes 6 hours. What is the local arrival time in Dubai (UTC+4)?
London is UTC+0, so departure time equals UTC time
Enter the local Dubai arrival hour
💡 London = UTC+0, so 06:00 departure = 06:00 UTC. Add 6hr flight = 12:00 UTC. Add Dubai offset +4 = ?
✅ 16:00 Dubai time. 06:00 UTC + 6hr = 12:00 UTC → +4 = 16:00 local.
5
Flight 5, Reading Backwards
It is 07:00 in New York (UTC−5). The school group needs to know the current time back in Brisbane (UTC+10).
Brisbane is east of New York, but be careful with the negative offset!
Enter the Brisbane hour
💡 Difference = 10 − (−5) = 15 hours. Brisbane is east, so add: 07:00 + 15 = ?
✅ 22:00 in Brisbane. The difference is 15 hours (10 − (−5) = 15). Brisbane leads NY by 15 hours.
6
Flight 6, Brisbane to Los Angeles
A flight departs Brisbane (UTC+10) at 14:00 and takes 13 hours. What is the local arrival time in Los Angeles (UTC−8)?
LA has a negative offset, remember to subtract it at the final step
Enter the local LA arrival hour
💡 Step 1: 14:00 − 10 = 04:00 UTC. Step 2: 04:00 + 13 = 17:00 UTC. Step 3: 17:00 − 8 (LA is UTC−8) = ?
✅ 09:00 LA time. UTC: 04:00 + 13hr = 17:00 UTC → −8 = 09:00 LA local time.
✈️
All Gates Unlocked!
Six flights verified, the departure board is back online and the school group makes it to every gate. You've nailed time zones from Brisbane to LA, London to Tokyo, and back again.
The trick that unlocks everything: East = add, West = subtract. And for flights, always convert to UTC first. 🌏