- Great circle
- 2,487 km
- 1,546 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 3h 35m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 51.5°N
- at 0% along
- One lap of Earth
- 6.2%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 181st longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Hungary, then Serbia, then Romania, then Bulgaria, then Turkey.
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 east (106°); it arrives into Istanbul heading south-east (127°). That is 21° 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 Istanbul, asked and answered
- How far is London to Istanbul?
- London to Istanbul (LHR to IST) is 2,487 km, or 1,546 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from London to Istanbul?
- About 3h 35m 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 Istanbul flight take?
- The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Hungary, then Serbia, then Romania, then Bulgaria, then Turkey. 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.
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