Air travel exposes passengers to higher levels of cosmic radiation than they typically experience on the ground. While the doses are small, frequent flyers and aviation workers often wonder how their exposure compares to medical X-rays or everyday background radiation. The Flight Radiation Calculator is designed to give you an easy, understandable comparison.
By entering your flight duration and altitude, the calculator estimates your dose in millisieverts (mSv). It then compares this exposure to well-known benchmarks: a chest X-ray, a dental X-ray, an airport body scan, or even a CT scan. To make the results meaningful, it also shows what percentage of the average annual radiation dose in the U.S. (3.1 mSv) your flight represents.
For example, a 10-hour international flight might expose you to around 0.074 mSv — that’s roughly equivalent to 7 dental X-rays or about 2% of the average annual dose. A quick 1-hour flight, on the other hand, is almost negligible compared to everyday background radiation.
This tool isn’t just for science enthusiasts. Frequent travelers, flight crew members, and even the health-conscious can use it to get perspective on how much radiation exposure comes with air travel. While occasional flights don’t pose health risks, the calculator highlights how repeated long-haul flights may gradually add up.
Ultimately, the goal is awareness. Radiation exposure is part of life — from the sun, the ground, the food we eat, and medical imaging. This calculator puts air travel into context, helping you understand your dose in simple, everyday comparisons.