---
title: "London to Colombo (LHR → CMB): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Colombo is 8,715 km (5,415 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 20m 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-cmb
---

LHR → CMB

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

London Heathrow to Bandaranaike International Colombo is 8,715 km of great circle — 5,415 mi — and an estimated 11h 20m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
8,715 km
5,415 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 20m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
21.7%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 68th longest.

The London to Colombo 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 Czechia, then Slovakia, then Ukraine, then Romania, then Ukraine, then 654 km of open water, then Turkey, then Iran, then Pakistan, then 1,765 km of open water, then India.

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 8,940 km. That is 225 km further, about 3% more, and roughly 17m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points east (93°); it arrives into Colombo heading south-east (141°). That is 48° 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 1.23 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

CMB

## Bandaranaike International Colombo

Colombo, Sri Lanka · Asia

7.2°N, 79.9°E

[CMB airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/cmb)

## London to Colombo, asked and answered

**How far is London to Colombo?**
London to Colombo (LHR to CMB) is 8,715 km, or 5,415 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Colombo?**
About 11h 20m 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 Colombo flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Czechia, then Slovakia, then Ukraine, then Romania, then Ukraine, then 654 km of open water, then Turkey, then Iran, then Pakistan, then 1,765 km of open water, then India. 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 → LAX London to Los Angeles 8,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lax) [LHR → SFO London to San Francisco 8,616 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sfo) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn) [LHR → MLE London to Malé 8,539 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mle) [LHR → JNB London to Johannesburg 9,075 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jnb) [LHR → PVG London to Shanghai 9,241 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-pvg)

## 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-cmb for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt