---
title: "London to Hong Kong (LHR → HKG): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Hong Kong is 9,630 km (5,984 mi) great circle, an estimated 12h 28m 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-hkg
---

LHR → HKG

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

London Heathrow to Hong Kong is 9,630 km of great circle — 5,984 mi — and an estimated 12h 28m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**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](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 47th longest.

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

## 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.

One economy seat on it is about 1.36 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

HKG

## Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong · Asia

22.3°N, 113.9°E

[HKG airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/hkg) [Flights to Hong Kong →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/hong-kong)

## 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.

[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 → HND London to Tokyo 9,592 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hnd) [LHR → NRT London to Tokyo 9,591 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-nrt) [CDG → HKG Paris to Hong Kong 9,590 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-hkg) [LHR → CPT London to Cape Town 9,682 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-cpt) [LHR → BKK London to Bangkok 9,578 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bkk) [LHR → MRU London to Mauritius 9,784 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mru)

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