---
title: "London to Rome (LHR → FCO): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Rome is 1,444 km (897 mi) great circle, an estimated 2h 18m 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-fco
---

LHR → FCO

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

London Heathrow to Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci is 1,444 km of great circle — 897 mi — and an estimated 2h 18m in the air. Both ends are in Europe.

**Great circle**
1,444 km
897 mi

**Estimated in the air**
2h 18m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
3.6%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 223rd longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then France, then Switzerland, then Italy.

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 (133°); it arrives into Rome heading south-east (142°). That is 9° 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 214 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

FCO

## Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci

Rome, Italy · Europe

41.8°N, 12.3°E

[FCO airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/fco) [Flights to Rome →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/rome)

## London to Rome, asked and answered

**How far is London to Rome?**
London to Rome (LHR to FCO) is 1,444 km, or 897 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Rome?**
About 2h 18m 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 Rome flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then France, then Switzerland, then Italy. 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 → ARN London to Stockholm 1,463 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-arn) [LHR → WAW London to Warsaw 1,469 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-waw) [LHR → BUD London to Budapest 1,489 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bud) [LHR → PMI London to Palma 1,348 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-pmi) [LHR → LIS London to Lisbon 1,564 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lis) [LHR → VIE London to Vienna 1,275 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-vie)

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