JetSetAuthority

Route · Europe to Asia and Africa

LGW London ⇄ CUN Cancún

London Gatwick Airport (United Kingdom) and Cancún International Airport (Mexico): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance7,976 km4,956 mi4,307 nautical miles
LGW → CUN10 h 55 minestimated block time
CUN → LGW9 h 25 minestimated block time
Clock change−5 hCancún vs London, today
Great-circle route from London (LGW) to Cancún (CUN)LGWLondonCUNCancún
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

LGW → CUN

10 h 55 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 281° (W).

Leave London Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Cancún Sat 7 Nov, 15:55 local.

CUN → LGW

9 h 25 min

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

Leave Cancún Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive London Sun 8 Nov, 00:25 local +1 day.

CUN-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 distance7,976 km · 4,956 mi · 4,307 nmi
Initial heading281° (W) from LGW; 41° (NE) from CUN
Farthest from the equator52.0°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip40% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

LGWEurope/London — UTC+0 now; UTC+0 standard time, UTC+1 during daylight saving time
CUNAmerica/Cancun — UTC−5 now; UTC−5 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceCancún is 5 hours behind London today; −5 h in January and −6 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying LGW → CUN. Your body clock has to move 5 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 5 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

LGW London Gatwick AirportLondon, United Kingdom · longest runway 10,883 ft3,317 m CUN Cancún International AirportCancún, Mexico · longest runway 11,483 ft3,500 m

More routes from LGW and CUN

LGWBCN London – Barcelona 1,109 km689 mi · 2 h 20 min LGWPMI London – Palma de Mallorca 1,309 km814 mi · 2 h 30 min LGWDBV London – Dubrovnik 1,690 km1,050 mi · 2 h 50 min LGWJTR London – Santorini 2,610 km1,622 mi · 3 h 50 min LGWTFS London – Tenerife 2,913 km1,810 mi · 4 h 30 min LGWBGI London – Barbados (Bridgetown) 6,759 km4,200 mi · 9 h 15 min MIACUN Miami – Cancún 855 km531 mi · 2 h 05 min IAHCUN Houston – Cancún 1,307 km812 mi · 2 h 30 min ORDCUN Chicago – Cancún 2,330 km1,448 mi · 3 h 40 min YYZCUN Toronto – Cancún 2,605 km1,618 mi · 4 h 05 min MANCUN Manchester – Cancún 7,794 km4,843 mi · 10 h 40 min FRACUN Frankfurt – Cancún 8,605 km5,347 mi · 11 h 40 min

Routes of a similar length

JFKHNL New York – Honolulu 8,007 km4,975 mi · 11 h 05 min GRULIS São Paulo – Lisbon 7,935 km4,930 mi · 9 h 55 min JFKATH New York – Athens 7,933 km4,929 mi · 9 h 20 min JFKIST New York – Istanbul 8,026 km4,987 mi · 9 h 30 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).