JetSetAuthority

Route · North Atlantic

ORD Chicago ⇄ LHR London

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (United States) and London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,344 km3,942 mi3,425 nautical miles
ORD → LHR7 h 45 minestimated block time
LHR → ORD8 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change+5 hLondon vs Chicago, today
Great-circle route from Chicago (ORD) to London (LHR)ORDChicagoLHRLondon
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

ORD → LHR

7 h 45 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 48° (NE).

Leave Chicago Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive London Sat 7 Nov, 23:45 local.

LHR → ORD

8 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 298° (WNW).

Leave London Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Chicago Sat 7 Nov, 12:50 local.

ORD-bound flights are the slower direction by about 65 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 distance6,344 km · 3,942 mi · 3,425 nmi
Initial heading48° (NE) from ORD; 298° (WNW) from LHR
Farthest from the equator56.5°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip32% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

ORDAmerica/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 Chicago today.

Jet lag, flying ORD → 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

ORD Chicago O'Hare International AirportChicago, United States · longest runway 13,000 ft3,962 m LHR London Heathrow AirportLondon, United Kingdom · longest runway 12,799 ft3,901 m

More routes from ORD and LHR

ORDMSP Chicago – Minneapolis 537 km334 mi · 1 h 45 min JFKORD New York – Chicago 1,188 km738 mi · 2 h 35 min IAHORD Houston – Chicago 1,491 km926 mi · 2 h 40 min ORDLAS Chicago – Las Vegas 2,432 km1,511 mi · 4 h 10 min ORDDUB Chicago – Dublin 5,895 km3,663 mi · 7 h 15 min ORDICN Chicago – Seoul 10,519 km6,536 mi · 13 h 30 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

YYZFRA Toronto – Frankfurt 6,344 km3,942 mi · 7 h 45 min DTWCDG Detroit – Paris 6,359 km3,952 mi · 7 h 45 min DTWAMS Detroit – Amsterdam 6,324 km3,929 mi · 7 h 45 min JFKZRH New York – Zurich 6,310 km3,921 mi · 7 h 40 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).