---
title: "London to Riyadh (LHR → RUH): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Riyadh is 4,940 km (3,070 mi) great circle, an estimated 6h 38m 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-ruh
---

LHR → RUH

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

London Heathrow to King Khalid is 4,940 km of great circle — 3,070 mi — and an estimated 6h 38m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
4,940 km
3,070 mi

**Estimated in the air**
6h 38m
block time

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

**One lap of Earth**
12.3%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 131st longest.

The London to Riyadh 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 Croatia, then Serbia, then Bulgaria, then Turkey, then Syria, then Jordan, then Saudi Arabia.

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 4,998 km. That is 58 km further, about 1% more, and roughly 4m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points east (108°); it arrives into Riyadh heading south-east (139°). That is 31° 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 700 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

RUH

## King Khalid

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · Asia

25.0°N, 46.7°E

[RUH airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/ruh)

## London to Riyadh, asked and answered

**How far is London to Riyadh?**
London to Riyadh (LHR to RUH) is 4,940 km, or 3,070 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Riyadh?**
About 6h 38m 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 Riyadh flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Belgium, then Germany, then Austria, then Croatia, then Serbia, then Bulgaria, then Turkey, then Syria, then Jordan, then Saudi Arabia. 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 → LOS London to Lagos 5,004 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-los) [LHR → ACC London to Accra 5,100 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-acc) [LHR → JED London to Jeddah 4,748 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jed) [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 → 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-ruh for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt