---
title: "London to Malé (LHR → MLE): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Malé is 8,539 km (5,306 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 07m 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-mle
---

LHR → MLE

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

London Heathrow to Velana is 8,539 km of great circle — 5,306 mi — and an estimated 11h 07m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
8,539 km
5,306 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 07m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
21.3%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 72nd longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Hungary, then Romania, then 406 km of open water, then Turkey, then Iraq, then Iran, then Oman, then 2,476 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 51.5°N, 0% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 8,708 km. That is 169 km further, about 2% more, and roughly 13m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points east (100°); it arrives into Malé heading south-east (142°). That is 42° 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 1.21 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

MLE

## Velana

Malé, Maldives · Asia

4.2°N, 73.5°E

[MLE airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/mle)

## London to Malé, asked and answered

**How far is London to Malé?**
London to Malé (LHR to MLE) is 8,539 km, or 5,306 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Malé?**
About 11h 07m 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 Malé flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Hungary, then Romania, then 406 km of open water, then Turkey, then Iraq, then Iran, then Oman, then 2,476 km of open water. 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 → SFO London to San Francisco 8,616 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sfo) [LHR → CMB London to Colombo 8,715 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-cmb) [LHR → LAX London to Los Angeles 8,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lax) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn) [LHR → PEK London to Beijing 8,154 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-pek) [LHR → BLR London to Bangalore 8,046 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-blr)

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