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Aviation glossary

Block time

Also: block-to-block time, chock-to-chock time, gate-to-gate time, block hours

Operations and flight

The total time of a flight, measured from when the aircraft leaves the departure gate until it stops at the arrival gate, including taxiing and any holding.

What it is

The name comes from the chocks, or blocks, placed against the wheels of a parked aircraft. Off-block time marks the start of movement on departure and on-block time the arrival at the gate. Block time is the interval between the two; airborne time, from take-off to landing, is always shorter.

It is the time airlines publish in their schedules and use to plan crews, aircraft rotations and costs, and the flight time counted under pilots' duty and rest rules is also generally measured from chock to chock. Many airlines build a few minutes of padding into scheduled block times to absorb taxiing at congested airports, which improves their punctuality.

On a short route such as Madrid to Barcelona, the timetable typically shows around an hour and a quarter of block time, while the aircraft spends a little under an hour in the air.

Related terms

Flight hoursThe time an aircraft, engine or pilot accumulates in flight; one of the basic measures for scheduling maintenance and for recording experience. On-time performanceShare of flights that depart or arrive within a set margin of their scheduled time, usually meaning less than 15 minutes late. TaxiingMovement of an aircraft on the ground under its own power between the apron and the runway, along taxiways and following instructions from ground control. PushbackThe manoeuvre in which a tug pushes an aircraft backwards away from the gate, since airliners do not normally reverse under their own power. Flight cyclesA unit of aircraft use equal to one take-off and one landing; the main measure of fatigue in the fuselage and in many engine parts.
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Block time. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time

MLA

“Block time.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Block time.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Block time. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_block_time,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Block time}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/block-time |title=Block time |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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