New York to London distance

New York to London in a straight line

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, New York and London are 3,471 miles (5,585 km) apart, 14% of the way around the Earth at the equator. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”. There’s no road between them: the straight line crosses 2,657 mi of sea, 77% of the way.

From New York, London lies to the northeast (bearing 51°), and from London, New York lies to the west. The straight line reaches London on a bearing of 108°: the bearing keeps turning along the way (57° in all), which is why the shortest route looks curved on a flat map.

If the plane kept the same bearing all the way (78°, to the east), it would follow the rhumb line, the one that looks straight on a Mercator map: 3,610 miles (5,810 km), 140 mi more (4.0% longer). That’s why long routes don’t look “straight” on a map: the curve is the short way.

What the route flies over

Under the straight line there are 2,657 mi of sea (77%) and 813 mi of land. In order, from New York: 183 mi over the United States, 310 mi over Canada, 137 mi over Ireland, and 183 mi over the United Kingdom.

The straight line climbs to 53.8° N (at 53.8002° N, 23.0321° W), 2.3° farther north than London: on a sphere that’s the short way, even if it looks like a detour on a flat map. Planes don’t follow the line exactly: they fly along airways, chase tailwinds and avoid closed airspace, but on long flights they stay close to it.

Halfway between New York and London

Halfway along the straight line, 1,735 miles (2,793 km) from each city, is the point 52.3911° N, 41.2770° W. It falls at sea; the nearest town is Nanortalik (Kujalleq, Greenland, pop. 1,185), 557 mi away.

Time difference and flight

A direct flight would take about 7 hr 30 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 5,585 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight. Westbound flights usually take a little longer than eastbound ones because of high-altitude winds (the jet stream).

London is 5 hours ahead of New York all year (United Kingdom Time versus Eastern Time): when it’s 12:00 in New York, it’s 17:00 in London.

With that flight time, if you leave New York at 10:00, you land in London around 22:30 (London time).

The two cities

London is 10.8° farther north than New York and 73.9° farther east. New York has 8.6 million people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025) and London 9.0 million people (GeoNames).