How to Pick the Best Airplane Seat Side to Avoid the Sun
Sun glare through an airplane window can ruin a flight — blinding light for hours, UV exposure you can't avoid, and missing that sunset you planned to watch. Choosing the right seat side fixes all of this, and it takes less than a minute with FlightPath.
Why it matters
Sitting on the sun-facing side of an aircraft for a 4-hour daytime flight is equivalent to roughly 15–30 minutes of direct midday sun exposure. Airplane windows block UVB but transmit up to 50% of UVA — the deeper-penetrating radiation responsible for skin aging and melanoma. At 35,000 feet, UV is 2–3× more intense than at sea level.
Beyond UV, direct sun glare at window seat level creates eye strain and makes screens impossible to see. Picking the shade side eliminates the problem entirely.
Step-by-step
Know your flight direction
The direction of your flight is the biggest factor. In the northern hemisphere, the sun is always to the south. Eastbound flights have the sun on the right in the morning and behind you by afternoon. Westbound flights are the opposite. Flights crossing the equator or traveling north/south add more variability.
Consider your departure time
The sun moves approximately 15° per hour. A 7am departure vs a 2pm departure on the same route often means the sun is on opposite sides for much of the flight. Early morning flights tend to have sun on the east-facing side; late afternoon on the west-facing side.
Use FlightPath for exact calculation
Enter your route and departure time at FlightPath. It uses open-source solar algorithms to calculate the sun's position at every point along your flight path and recommends the exact shade side — no guesswork.
Book the recommended seat
Once you know the shade side, use your airline's seat map to select a window seat on that side. On most aircraft, left = port side (A seats), right = starboard side (window seats on the other side). Check your booking platform's cabin map.
Check UV recommendations
Even on the shade side, UV can accumulate at altitude. FlightPath's UV Dashboard gives you an estimated UV index for your specific flight and a personalized SPF recommendation.
Not just about avoiding sun
FlightPath is also useful for the opposite goal: knowing which side to sit on to catch the sun. The solar timeline shows exactly when and from which side the sun will be visible throughout your flight — perfect for planning a golden-hour view, a sunset over the ocean, or a star-filled sky on an overnight transoceanic flight. Sometimes it's about picking the right side not to hide from the sun, but to find it.
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