---
title: "London to Reykjavík (LHR → KEF): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Reykjavík is 1,895 km (1,178 mi) great circle, an estimated 2h 51m 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-kef
---

LHR → KEF

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

London Heathrow to Keflavik is 1,895 km of great circle — 1,178 mi — and an estimated 2h 51m in the air. Both ends are in Europe.

**Great circle**
1,895 km
1,178 mi

**Estimated in the air**
2h 51m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
64.0°N
at 100% along

**One lap of Earth**
4.7%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 201st longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 1,312 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 64.0°N, 100% 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 north-west (326°); it arrives into Reykjavík heading north-west (307°). That is 19° 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 281 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

KEF

## Keflavik

Reykjavík, Iceland · Europe

64.0°N, 22.6°W

[KEF airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/kef)

## London to Reykjavík, asked and answered

**How far is London to Reykjavík?**
London to Reykjavík (LHR to KEF) is 1,895 km, or 1,178 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Reykjavík?**
About 2h 51m 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 Reykjavík flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 1,312 km of open water. It reaches 64.0°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 → HEL London to Helsinki 1,848 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hel) [LHR → FAO London to Faro 1,713 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-fao) [LHR → OTP London to Bucharest 2,105 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-otp) [LHR → AGP London to Málaga 1,676 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-agp) [CPH → KEF Copenhagen to Reykjavík 2,144 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cph-to-kef) [LHR → LIS London to Lisbon 1,564 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lis)

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