- Great circle
- 9,630 km
- 5,984 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 12h 28m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 58.3°N
- at 27% along
- One lap of Earth
- 24.0%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 47th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 530 km of open water, then Latvia, then Estonia, then Russia, then Kazakhstan, then China.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 58.3°N, 27% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 10,449 km. That is 818 km further, about 8% more, and roughly 1h 01m of extra flying.
Leaving London the aircraft points north-east (58°); it arrives into Hong Kong heading south-east (145°). That is 88° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
London to Hong Kong, asked and answered
- How far is London to Hong Kong?
- London to Hong Kong (LHR to HKG) is 9,630 km, or 5,984 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from London to Hong Kong?
- About 12h 28m 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 Hong Kong flight take?
- The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 530 km of open water, then Latvia, then Estonia, then Russia, then Kazakhstan, then China. It reaches 58.3°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.
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