JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

IAH Houston ⇄ LHR London

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (United States) and London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance7,763 km4,824 mi4,192 nautical miles
IAH → LHR9 h 15 minestimated block time
LHR → IAH10 h 35 minestimated block time
Clock change+5 hLondon vs Houston, today
Great-circle route from Houston (IAH) to London (LHR)IAHHoustonLHRLondon
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

IAH → LHR

9 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 41° (NE).

Leave Houston Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive London Sun 8 Nov, 01:15 local +1 day.

LHR → IAH

10 h 35 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 293° (WNW).

Leave London Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Houston Sat 7 Nov, 14:35 local.

IAH-bound flights are the slower direction by about 85 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 distance7,763 km · 4,824 mi · 4,192 nmi
Initial heading41° (NE) from IAH; 293° (WNW) from LHR
Farthest from the equator55.1°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip39% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

IAHAmerica/Chicago — UTC−5 now; UTC−6 standard time, UTC−5 during daylight saving time
LHREurope/London — UTC+0 now; UTC+0 standard time, UTC+1 during daylight saving time
DifferenceLondon is 5 hours ahead of Houston today.

Jet lag, flying IAH → LHR. Your body clock has to move 5 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 5 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

IAH George Bush Intercontinental AirportHouston, United States · longest runway 12,001 ft3,658 m LHR London Heathrow AirportLondon, United Kingdom · longest runway 12,799 ft3,901 m

More routes from IAH and LHR

DFWIAH Dallas–Fort Worth – Houston 362 km225 mi · 1 h 25 min IAHMEX Houston – Mexico City 1,232 km765 mi · 2 h 30 min IAHCUN Houston – Cancún 1,307 km812 mi · 2 h 30 min IAHBOG Houston – Bogotá 3,585 km2,228 mi · 5 h IAHFRA Houston – Frankfurt 8,402 km5,221 mi · 9 h 55 min IAHSYD Houston – Sydney 13,836 km8,597 mi · 17 h 25 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 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

FRAPEK Frankfurt – Beijing 7,789 km4,840 mi · 9 h 20 min MANCUN Manchester – Cancún 7,794 km4,843 mi · 10 h 40 min GIGLIS Rio de Janeiro – Lisbon 7,715 km4,794 mi · 9 h 40 min SEAHND Seattle – Tokyo 7,711 km4,792 mi · 10 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).