---
title: "London to Johannesburg (LHR → JNB): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Johannesburg is 9,075 km (5,639 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 47m 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-jnb
---

LHR → JNB

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

London Heathrow to O.R. Tambo is 9,075 km of great circle — 5,639 mi — and an estimated 11h 47m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Africa.

**Great circle**
9,075 km
5,639 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 47m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
22.6%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 61st longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses France, then 771 km of open water, then Tunisia, then Libya, then Niger, then Chad, then the Central African Republic, then the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then Angola, then Zambia, then Botswana, then South Africa.

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 (154°); it arrives into Johannesburg heading south (162°). That is 8° 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 1.29 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

JNB

## O.R. Tambo

Johannesburg, South Africa · Africa

26.1°S, 28.2°E

[JNB airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/jnb) [Flights to Johannesburg →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/johannesburg)

## London to Johannesburg, asked and answered

**How far is London to Johannesburg?**
London to Johannesburg (LHR to JNB) is 9,075 km, or 5,639 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Johannesburg?**
About 11h 47m 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 Johannesburg flight take?**
The great circle passes over France, then 771 km of open water, then Tunisia, then Libya, then Niger, then Chad, then the Central African Republic, then the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then Angola, then Zambia, then Botswana, then South Africa. 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 → PVG London to Shanghai 9,241 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-pvg) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn) [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 → GRU London to São Paulo 9,460 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-gru) [FRA → JNB Frankfurt to Johannesburg 8,690 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/fra-to-jnb)

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