---
title: "London to Cairo (LHR → CAI): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Cairo is 3,533 km (2,195 mi) great circle, an estimated 4h 53m 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-cai
---

LHR → CAI

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

London Heathrow to Cairo is 3,533 km of great circle — 2,195 mi — and an estimated 4h 53m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Africa.

**Great circle**
3,533 km
2,195 mi

**Estimated in the air**
4h 53m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
8.8%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 159th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses France, then Italy, then 751 km of open water, then Albania, then Greece, then 548 km of open water, then Egypt.

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

Holding a single compass bearing the whole way would cover almost exactly the same ground, so on this route the flat map and the globe agree.

Leaving London the aircraft points south-east (120°); it arrives into Cairo heading south-east (141°). That is 21° 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 524 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

CAI

## Cairo

Cairo, Egypt · Africa

30.1°N, 31.4°E

[CAI airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/cai)

## London to Cairo, asked and answered

**How far is London to Cairo?**
London to Cairo (LHR to CAI) is 3,533 km, or 2,195 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Cairo?**
About 4h 53m 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 Cairo flight take?**
The great circle passes over France, then Italy, then 751 km of open water, then Albania, then Greece, then 548 km of open water, then Egypt. 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 → BEY London to Beirut 3,482 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bey) [LHR → TLV London to Tel Aviv 3,589 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-tlv) [LHR → AMM London to Amman 3,683 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-amm) [LHR → TFS London to Tenerife 2,932 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-tfs) [LHR → IST London to Istanbul 2,487 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-ist) [LHR → ATH London to Athens 2,427 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-ath)

## 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)

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