BUSINESS SPEAK · UTC
UTC: Coordinated Universal Time
The world’s shared reference clock.
What it means
Every local time zone is written as an offset from UTC: UTC−5 is five hours behind, UTC+2 is two ahead. Some offsets are fractional (UTC+5:30) and many shift by an hour for daylight saving.
Where you’ll meet it
- To find your landing time: convert departure to UTC, add the flight time, then convert to the arrival zone.
- Pilots, servers and international meetings run on UTC to avoid confusion.
Worked example
Scenario: You leave at 22:30 in UTC−5 on a 7.5-hour flight to UTC+1.
- Departure in UTC: 22:30 + 5 = 03:30 next day
- Landing in UTC: 03:30 + 7:30 = 11:00
- Local: 11:00 + 1 = 12:00
Answer: You land at 12:00 noon local time, the next day.