---
title: "London to Seoul (LHR → ICN): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Seoul is 8,861 km (5,506 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 31m 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-icn
---

LHR → ICN

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

London Heathrow to Incheon is 8,861 km of great circle — 5,506 mi — and an estimated 11h 31m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
8,861 km
5,506 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 31m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
66.3°N
at 39% along

**One lap of Earth**
22.1%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 64th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 642 km of open water, then Sweden, then Finland, then Russia, then Mongolia, then China, then North Korea.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 66.3°N, 39% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 10,117 km. That is 1,256 km further, about 14% more, and roughly 1h 34m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points north-east (40°); it arrives into Seoul heading south-east (150°). That is 109° 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 1.26 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

ICN

## Incheon

Seoul, South Korea · Asia

37.5°N, 126.5°E

[ICN airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/icn) [Flights to Seoul →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/seoul)

## London to Seoul, asked and answered

**How far is London to Seoul?**
London to Seoul (LHR to ICN) is 8,861 km, or 5,506 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Seoul?**
About 11h 31m 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 Seoul flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 642 km of open water, then Sweden, then Finland, then Russia, then Mongolia, then China, then North Korea. It reaches 66.3°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 → LAX London to Los Angeles 8,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lax) [LHR → CMB London to Colombo 8,715 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-cmb) [LHR → JNB London to Johannesburg 9,075 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jnb) [SFO → ICN San Francisco to Seoul 9,085 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-icn) [LHR → SFO London to San Francisco 8,616 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sfo) [LHR → MLE London to Malé 8,539 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mle)

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