---
title: "London to Abu Dhabi (LHR → AUH): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Abu Dhabi is 5,516 km (3,427 mi) great circle, an estimated 7h 21m in the air. The route, what it flies over, and why the short way is not the straight line on a map."
url: https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-auh
---

LHR → AUH

# London to Abu Dhabi: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

London Heathrow to Zayed is 5,516 km of great circle — 3,427 mi — and an estimated 7h 21m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
5,516 km
3,427 mi

**Estimated in the air**
7h 21m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
51.5°N
at 0% along

**One lap of Earth**
13.8%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 119th longest.

The London to Abu Dhabi route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Hungary, then Romania, then Bulgaria, then Turkey, then Syria, then Iraq, then 841 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 51.5°N, 0% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 5,605 km. That is 89 km further, about 2% more, and roughly 7m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points east (101°); it arrives into Abu Dhabi heading south-east (138°). That is 37° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.

One economy seat on it is about 781 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

[LHR–AUH carbon footprint →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-carbon-calculator?from=LHR&to=AUH) [Map this route →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-route-map?r=LHR-AUH)

From

LHR

## London Heathrow

London, United Kingdom · Europe

51.5°N, 0.5°W

[LHR airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lhr) [Flights to London →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/london)

To

AUH

## Zayed

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates · Asia

24.4°N, 54.6°E

[AUH airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/auh)

## London to Abu Dhabi, asked and answered

**How far is London to Abu Dhabi?**
London to Abu Dhabi (LHR to AUH) is 5,516 km, or 3,427 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Abu Dhabi?**
About 7h 21m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.

**What route does a London to Abu Dhabi flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Hungary, then Romania, then Bulgaria, then Turkey, then Syria, then Iraq, then 841 km of open water. It reaches 51.5°N at its furthest from the equator.

## Where these numbers come from

Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.

[Why the shortest path is a curve →](https://orbitflights.app/blog/great-circle-routes-explained)

## Flown this one?

Orbit logs it in two taps and draws the arc on your own globe, along with every other flight you can remember. Free for your first 15.

[Download now](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qwertybit.orbit)

## Nearby routes

[LHR → DXB London to Dubai 5,498 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-dxb) [LHR → JFK London to New York 5,540 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jfk) [LHR → EWR London to Newark 5,562 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-ewr) [LHR → YYZ London to Toronto 5,707 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-yyz) [LHR → DOH London to Doha 5,241 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-doh) [LHR → BOS London to Boston 5,240 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bos)

## Further reading

[How many miles do you have to fly around the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/how-many-miles-to-fly-around-the-world) [What is on the exact opposite side of the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/opposite-side-of-the-world) [What's actually worth counting in a flight log](https://orbitflights.app/blog/what-is-worth-counting-in-a-flight-log)

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Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-auh for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt