JetSetAuthority

Route · Europe

LHR London ⇄ IST Istanbul

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

Distance2,487 km1,546 mi1,343 nautical miles
LHR → IST3 h 40 minestimated block time
IST → LHR4 h 10 minestimated block time
Clock change+3 hIstanbul vs London, today
Great-circle route from London (LHR) to Istanbul (IST)LHRLondonISTIstanbul
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

LHR → IST

3 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 106° (ESE).

Leave London Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Istanbul Sat 7 Nov, 16:40 local.

IST → LHR

4 h 10 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 307° (NW).

Leave Istanbul Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive London Sat 7 Nov, 11:10 local.

LHR-bound flights are the slower direction by about 30 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 distance2,487 km · 1,546 mi · 1,343 nmi
Initial heading106° (ESE) from LHR; 307° (NW) from IST
Farthest from the equator51.5°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip12% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

LHREurope/London — UTC+0 now; UTC+0 standard time, UTC+1 during daylight saving time
ISTEurope/Istanbul — UTC+3 now; UTC+3 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceIstanbul is 3 hours ahead of London today; +3 h in January and +2 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying LHR → IST. 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

LHR London Heathrow AirportLondon, United Kingdom · longest runway 12,799 ft3,901 m IST İstanbul AirportIstanbul, Turkey · longest runway 13,451 ft4,100 m

More routes from LHR and IST

LHRMAN London – Manchester 243 km151 mi · 1 h 20 min LHROSL London – Oslo 1,206 km749 mi · 2 h 20 min AMMLHR Amman – London 3,683 km2,288 mi · 5 h 35 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 ISTADB Istanbul – Izmir 358 km222 mi · 1 h 30 min ATHIST Athens – Istanbul 553 km344 mi · 1 h 40 min FRAIST Frankfurt – Istanbul 1,837 km1,141 mi · 3 h ISTDEL Istanbul – Delhi 4,567 km2,838 mi · 5 h 45 min JFKIST New York – Istanbul 8,026 km4,987 mi · 9 h 30 min LAXIST Los Angeles – Istanbul 11,002 km6,836 mi · 13 h 05 min

Routes of a similar length

JFKMBJ New York – Montego Bay 2,493 km1,549 mi · 3 h 55 min DUSAYT Düsseldorf – Antalya 2,479 km1,540 mi · 3 h 40 min LAXMEX Los Angeles – Mexico City 2,500 km1,554 mi · 3 h 45 min JFKCUN New York – Cancún 2,506 km1,557 mi · 4 h

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).