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Bound to the Earth by gravity, most of the atmosphere spins along with it as a result of friction with the ground and the viscosity or 'stickiness' of the different layers of air above it. Above 200km, however, the incredibly thin atmosphere actually spins faster than the Earth.

It is the rotation of the Earth that is causing the longer flight times, but not because it's moving towards or away from the flying aircraft. It is instead due to its influence on wind patterns ? the so-called high-altitude jet streams.

Since the jet streams flow from west to east, they make one leg of the journey much faster (when flying with the stream) and one slower (against the stream). Imagine going downstream or upstream a river, or how it feels when you are cycling against the wind, as opposed to when you have it at your back.

Clear-air turbulence. Jet streams are, at their most basic, high-altitude air currents caused by atmospheric heating and the inertia of the earth's rotation?and they're the reason why flights from west to east are faster than the same route traversed in the opposite direction.

So which way do planes fly the fastest? In general, but not always, aircraft travel faster travelling from west to east. Indeed, on a scheduled flight from New York to Malaga, for example, flight time can be reduced by almost 20% compared to the opposite route, from 8.5 hours to 7 hours.

Everything on earth, not just the ground, but also the water (and even the atmosphere), is rotating in the same direction, Forbes reported. Since planes in the sky are being pulled eastward with the earth, it takes more time to go west. Think of it kind of like walking against the wind.