---
title: "London to Chicago (LHR → ORD): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Chicago is 6,344 km (3,942 mi) great circle, an estimated 8h 23m 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-ord
---

LHR → ORD

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

London Heathrow to Chicago O'Hare is 6,344 km of great circle — 3,942 mi — and an estimated 8h 23m in the air. It crosses from Europe to North America.

**Great circle**
6,344 km
3,942 mi

**Estimated in the air**
8h 23m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
56.5°N
at 36% along

**One lap of Earth**
15.8%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 103rd longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,045 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 56.5°N, 36% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 6,724 km. That is 380 km further, about 6% more, and roughly 28m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points north-west (298°); it arrives into Chicago heading south-west (228°). That is 70° 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 899 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

ORD

## Chicago O'Hare

Chicago, United States · North America

42.0°N, 87.9°W

[ORD airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/ord)

## London to Chicago, asked and answered

**How far is London to Chicago?**
London to Chicago (LHR to ORD) is 6,344 km, or 3,942 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Chicago?**
About 8h 23m 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 Chicago flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,045 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States. It reaches 56.5°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 → DEL London to Delhi 6,731 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-del) [LHR → ATL London to Atlanta 6,761 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-atl) [LHR → IAD London to Washington 5,902 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-iad) [LHR → NBO London to Nairobi 6,841 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-nbo) [LHR → YYZ London to Toronto 5,707 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-yyz) [LHR → MIA London to Miami 7,109 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mia)

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