JetSetAuthority

Route · Middle East and the Gulf hubs

AUH Abu Dhabi ⇄ LHR London

Zayed International Airport (United Arab Emirates) and London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance5,516 km3,427 mi2,978 nautical miles
AUH → LHR7 h 50 minestimated block time
LHR → AUH6 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change−4 hLondon vs Abu Dhabi, today
Great-circle route from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to London (LHR)AUHAbu DhabiLHRLondon
The shortest path over the Earth’s surface (great circle), drawn on a Natural Earth projection. Real flight paths bend around weather, winds and closed airspace.

Flight time each way

AUH → LHR

7 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 318° (NW).

Leave Abu Dhabi Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive London Sat 7 Nov, 13:50 local.

LHR → AUH

6 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 101° (ESE).

Leave London Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Abu Dhabi Sat 7 Nov, 20:50 local.

LHR-bound flights are the slower direction by about 60 minutes in our estimate: the route runs mostly east–west through latitudes where the prevailing westerly winds at cruise height are strong, so heading east rides a tailwind and heading west fights a headwind. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance5,516 km · 3,427 mi · 2,978 nmi
Initial heading318° (NW) from AUH; 101° (ESE) from LHR
Farthest from the equator51.5°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip28% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

AUHAsia/Dubai — UTC+4 now; UTC+4 all year (no daylight saving time)
LHREurope/London — UTC+0 now; UTC+0 standard time, UTC+1 during daylight saving time
DifferenceLondon is 4 hours behind Abu Dhabi today; −4 h in January and −3 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying AUH → LHR. Your body clock has to move 4 hours later, like a westward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 4 days to fully adjust. Shifting later (as here) is usually the easier direction; evening daylight at the destination helps. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

AUH Zayed International AirportAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates · longest runway 13,471 ft4,106 m LHR London Heathrow AirportLondon, United Kingdom · longest runway 12,799 ft3,901 m

More routes from AUH and LHR

AUHBOM Abu Dhabi – Mumbai 1,971 km1,225 mi · 3 h 10 min AUHJFK Abu Dhabi – New York 11,031 km6,854 mi · 14 h 35 min LHRMAN London – Manchester 243 km151 mi · 1 h 20 min LHROSL London – Oslo 1,206 km749 mi · 2 h 20 min LHRTLV London – Tel Aviv 3,589 km2,230 mi · 4 h 50 min LHRDEL London – Delhi 6,731 km4,183 mi · 8 h 05 min LHRSEZ London – Mahé 8,176 km5,080 mi · 10 h LHRSYD London – Sydney 17,021 km10,576 mi · 19 h 30 min

Routes of a similar length

YULCDG Montreal – Paris 5,524 km3,433 mi · 6 h 50 min BOSCDG Boston – Paris 5,535 km3,439 mi · 6 h 50 min EWRLIS Newark – Lisbon 5,434 km3,376 mi · 6 h 40 min JFKLIS New York – Lisbon 5,404 km3,358 mi · 6 h 35 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).