Submitted by [deleted] t3_10q9z6a in explainlikeimfive
breckenridgeback t1_j6oqudf wrote
The air is rotating along with the surface of the Earth. And so is the plane. The movement of a plane is relative to the moving surface.
Except for very near the poles, or a few supersonic aircraft, a plane traveling "west" is in fact still being carried eastward by the Earth's rotation. It's just traveling eastward less quickly, so its position relative to the surface moves westward.
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