JetSetAuthority

Route · Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America

GRU São Paulo ⇄ LHR London

São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (Brazil) and London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance9,460 km5,878 mi5,108 nautical miles
GRU → LHR11 h 30 minestimated block time
LHR → GRU12 h 05 minestimated block time
Clock change+3 hLondon vs São Paulo, today
Great-circle route from São Paulo (GRU) to London (LHR)GRUSão PauloLHRLondon
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

GRU → LHR

11 h 30 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 27° (NNE).

Leave São Paulo Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive London Sun 8 Nov, 00:30 local +1 day.

LHR → GRU

12 h 05 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 221° (SW).

Leave London Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive São Paulo Sat 7 Nov, 19:05 local.

GRU-bound flights are the slower direction by about 35 minutes in our estimate: the route runs partly 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 distance9,460 km · 5,878 mi · 5,108 nmi
Initial heading27° (NNE) from GRU; 221° (SW) from LHR
Farthest from the equator51.5°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip47% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

GRUAmerica/Sao_Paulo — UTC−3 now; UTC−3 all year (no daylight saving time)
LHREurope/London — UTC+0 now; UTC+0 standard time, UTC+1 during daylight saving time
DifferenceLondon is 3 hours ahead of São Paulo today; +3 h in January and +4 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying GRU → LHR. Your body clock has to move 3 hours earlier, like an eastward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 3 days to fully adjust. Shifting earlier (as here) is usually the harder direction; morning daylight at the destination helps. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

GRU São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International AirportSão Paulo, Brazil · longest runway 12,139 ft3,700 m LHR London Heathrow AirportLondon, United Kingdom · longest runway 12,799 ft3,901 m

More routes from GRU and LHR

GRUGIG São Paulo – Rio de Janeiro 336 km209 mi · 1 h 25 min GRUEZE São Paulo – Buenos Aires 1,723 km1,070 mi · 3 h 10 min MIAGRU Miami – São Paulo 6,574 km4,085 mi · 8 h 25 min JFKGRU New York – São Paulo 7,664 km4,762 mi · 9 h 35 min GRUCDG São Paulo – Paris 9,405 km5,844 mi · 11 h 25 min DXBGRU Dubai – São Paulo 12,217 km7,591 mi · 15 h 20 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 LHRANU London – St. John's 6,553 km4,072 mi · 9 h 05 min LHRPEK London – Beijing 8,154 km5,067 mi · 9 h 50 min LHRSYD London – Sydney 17,021 km10,576 mi · 19 h 30 min

Routes of a similar length

CDGBKK Paris – Bangkok 9,448 km5,871 mi · 11 h CDGMRU Paris – Mauritius 9,447 km5,870 mi · 11 h 25 min SFOPEK San Francisco – Beijing 9,494 km5,899 mi · 12 h 40 min LIMMAD Lima – Madrid 9,526 km5,919 mi · 11 h 25 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).