---
title: "London to Shanghai (LHR → PVG): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Shanghai is 9,241 km (5,742 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 59m 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-pvg
---

LHR → PVG

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

London Heathrow to Shanghai Pudong is 9,241 km of great circle — 5,742 mi — and an estimated 11h 59m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
9,241 km
5,742 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 59m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
63.0°N
at 34% along

**One lap of Earth**
23.1%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 56th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 531 km of open water, then Denmark, then Sweden, then Finland, then Russia, then Mongolia, then China.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 63.0°N, 34% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 10,325 km. That is 1,084 km further, about 12% more, and roughly 1h 21m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points north-east (47°); it arrives into Shanghai heading south-east (148°). That is 101° 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 1.31 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

PVG

## Shanghai Pudong

Shanghai, China · Asia

31.1°N, 121.8°E

[PVG airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/pvg) [Flights to Shanghai →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/shanghai)

## London to Shanghai, asked and answered

**How far is London to Shanghai?**
London to Shanghai (LHR to PVG) is 9,241 km, or 5,742 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Shanghai?**
About 11h 59m 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 Shanghai flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 531 km of open water, then Denmark, then Sweden, then Finland, then Russia, then Mongolia, then China. It reaches 63.0°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 → JNB London to Johannesburg 9,075 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jnb) [LHR → GRU London to São Paulo 9,460 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-gru) [LHR → BKK London to Bangkok 9,578 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bkk) [LHR → NRT London to Tokyo 9,591 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-nrt) [LHR → HND London to Tokyo 9,592 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hnd) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn)

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