---
title: "London to Lagos (LHR → LOS): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Lagos is 5,004 km (3,109 mi) great circle, an estimated 6h 43m 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-los
---

LHR → LOS

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

London Heathrow to Murtala Muhammed is 5,004 km of great circle — 3,109 mi — and an estimated 6h 43m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Africa.

**Great circle**
5,004 km
3,109 mi

**Estimated in the air**
6h 43m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
12.5%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 129th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses France, then Spain, then 500 km of open water, then Algeria, then Mali, then Niger, then Benin, then Nigeria.

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.

The heading barely moves: south out of London, south into Lagos. Over this distance the curve has too little room to bend the compass.

One economy seat on it is about 709 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

LOS

## Murtala Muhammed

Lagos, Nigeria · Africa

6.6°N, 3.3°E

[LOS airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/los)

## London to Lagos, asked and answered

**How far is London to Lagos?**
London to Lagos (LHR to LOS) is 5,004 km, or 3,109 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Lagos?**
About 6h 43m 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 Lagos flight take?**
The great circle passes over France, then Spain, then 500 km of open water, then Algeria, then Mali, then Niger, then Benin, then Nigeria. 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 → RUH London to Riyadh 4,940 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-ruh) [LHR → ACC London to Accra 5,100 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-acc) [LHR → BOS London to Boston 5,240 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bos) [LHR → DOH London to Doha 5,241 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-doh) [LHR → JED London to Jeddah 4,748 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jed) [LHR → DXB London to Dubai 5,498 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-dxb)

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