MODO AVIÓN

London to Sydney flight path

LHR → SYDLHRSYD
The shortest path on the sphere. On a flat map it looks curved; on the globe it is a straight line.

Along the shortest route, the flight from London to Sydney covers 10,580 miles (17,020 km) — about 20 h 05 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. It crosses the North Sea, the Wadden Sea and the Baltic Sea: 32% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+1 and land on UTC+11.

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From London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) · LHR · SYD

LHRLondon
SYDSydney
Great-circle distance
17,020 km
Duration, no wind
20 h 05 min
Over water
32 %
Time difference today
+10 h

The route drawn is the theoretical one — the shortest path on the sphere. The real aircraft follows airways, avoids storms and closed airspace, and rides the wind: it can be hundreds of kilometres off.

What countries do you fly over from London to Sydney?

  • United Kingdom
  • Netherlands
  • Germany
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Russia
  • Kazakhstan
  • People's Republic of China
  • Philippines
  • Indonesia
  • Australia
  • North Sea
  • Wadden Sea
  • Baltic Sea
  • South China Sea
  • Sulu Sea
  • Celebes Sea
  • Molucca Sea
  • Ceram Sea
  • Banda Sea
  • Arafura Sea

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Amne Machin

To see Amne Machin (6,282 m), sit on the left: it lies about 45 km from the route, ≈ 9 h 05 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Gora Tastau (2,992 m) ≈ 6 h 50 min
  • Ürümqi ≈ 7 h 25 min
  • Bogda Peak (5,445 m) ≈ 7 h 30 min
  • Amne Machin (6,282 m) ≈ 9 h 05 min
  • Chengdu ≈ 9 h 50 min
  • Zunyi ≈ 10 h 15 min
  • Guiyang ≈ 10 h 25 min
  • Liuzhou ≈ 10 h 50 min
  • Shengtang Mountain (1,935 m) ≈ 10 h 55 min
  • Gaozhou ≈ 11 h 10 min
Right window
  • Hamburg ≈ 1 h 05 min
  • Mount Yamantau (1,638 m) ≈ 4 h 40 min
  • Astana ≈ 5 h 45 min
  • Lianjiang ≈ 11 h 10 min
  • Zhanjiang ≈ 11 h 10 min

Left and right facing forward, on the theoretical route. Times are from take-off, with no wind.

Leg by leg

2 h4 h6 h8 h10 h12 h14 h16 h18 hUTC+2UTC+3UTC+4UTC+3UTC+5UTC+8UTC+9UTC+9:30UTC+10UTC+11UTC+1South China SeaMolucca SeaGreat BritainUral MountainsJunggar BasinArnhem LandAmne Machin 6,282 m 45 kmBogda Peak 5,445 m 57 kmGora Tastau 2,992 m 55 kmShengtang Mountain 1,935 m 109 kmMount Yamantau 1,638 m 85 kmÜrümqi 19 kmAstana 25 kmZhanjiang 46 kmLianjiang 28 kmGaozhou 38 kmLHRSYD▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 h12 h14 h16 h18 hUTC+2UTC+3UTC+4UTC+3UTC+5UTC+8UTC+9UTC+9:30UTC+10UTC+11South China SeaSulu SeaMolucca SeaGreat BritainNorth-Estonian Coastal PlainKazakh UplandsTibetan PlateauArnhem LandGora Tastau2,992 m · 55 kmÜrümqi19 km off routeBogda Peak5,445 m · 57 kmAmne Machin6,282 m · 45 kmChengdu82 km off routeZunyi97 km off routeGuiyang8 km off routeLiuzhou74 km off routeShengtang Mountain1,935 m · 109 kmGaozhou38 km off routeHamburg94 km off routeMount Yamantau1,638 m · 85 kmAstana25 km off routeLianjiang28 km off routeZhanjiang46 km off routeLHRSYDUTC+1

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from London Heathrow Airport
  2. Below: Great Britain0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Water starts: North Sea and Wadden Sea170 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
  4. Below: British Isles170 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
  5. Below: Frisian Islands397 km · ≈ 40 min into the flight
  6. Local time below changes: UTC+1 to UTC+2397 km · ≈ 40 min into the flight
  7. Hamburg, Germany — on the right, 94 km away737 km · ≈ 1 h 05 min into the flight
  8. Below: North European Plain738 km · ≈ 1 h 05 min into the flight
  9. Land again738 km · ≈ 1 h 05 min into the flight
  10. Water starts: Baltic Sea964 km · ≈ 1 h 20 min into the flight
  11. Local time below changes: UTC+2 to UTC+31,480 km · ≈ 1 h 55 min into the flight
  12. Below: North-Estonian Coastal Plain1,530 km · ≈ 2 h 00 min into the flight
  13. Land again1,530 km · ≈ 2 h 00 min into the flight
  14. Local time below changes: UTC+3 to UTC+43,400 km · ≈ 4 h 10 min into the flight
  15. Local time below changes: UTC+4 to UTC+33,460 km · ≈ 4 h 15 min into the flight
  16. Local time below changes: UTC+3 to UTC+53,570 km · ≈ 4 h 20 min into the flight
  17. Below: Ural Mountains3,740 km · ≈ 4 h 35 min into the flight
  18. Mount Yamantau, 1,638 m — on the right, 85 km away3,830 km · ≈ 4 h 40 min into the flight
  19. Below: Kazakh Steppe3,970 km · ≈ 4 h 50 min into the flight
  20. Astana, Kazakhstan — on the right, 25 km away4,790 km · ≈ 5 h 45 min into the flight
  21. Below: Kazakh Uplands4,990 km · ≈ 6 h 00 min into the flight
  22. Below: Tarbagatai Mountains5,450 km · ≈ 6 h 30 min into the flight
  23. Gora Tastau, 2,992 m — on the left, 55 km away5,700 km · ≈ 6 h 50 min into the flight
  24. Local time below changes: UTC+5 to UTC+85,790 km · ≈ 6 h 55 min into the flight
  25. Below: Junggar Basin5,960 km · ≈ 7 h 05 min into the flight
  26. Below: Tian Shan6,180 km · ≈ 7 h 20 min into the flight
  27. Ürümqi, People's Republic of China — on the left, 19 km away6,250 km · ≈ 7 h 25 min into the flight
  28. Bogda Peak, 5,445 m — on the left, 57 km away6,290 km · ≈ 7 h 30 min into the flight
  29. Below: Tibetan Plateau6,920 km · ≈ 8 h 10 min into the flight
  30. Below: Altyn-Tagh6,980 km · ≈ 8 h 15 min into the flight
  31. Below: Qaidam Basin7,320 km · ≈ 8 h 40 min into the flight
  32. Below: Kunlun Mountains7,490 km · ≈ 8 h 50 min into the flight
  33. Amne Machin, 6,282 m — on the left, 45 km away7,670 km · ≈ 9 h 05 min into the flight
  34. Below: Sichuan Basin8,280 km · ≈ 9 h 45 min into the flight
  35. Chengdu, People's Republic of China — on the left, 82 km away8,300 km · ≈ 9 h 50 min into the flight
  36. Below: Dalou Mountains8,570 km · ≈ 10 h 05 min into the flight
  37. Zunyi, People's Republic of China — on the left, 97 km away8,730 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  38. Below: Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau8,790 km · ≈ 10 h 20 min into the flight
  39. Guiyang, People's Republic of China — on the left, 8 km away8,820 km · ≈ 10 h 25 min into the flight
  40. Liuzhou, People's Republic of China — on the left, 74 km away9,180 km · ≈ 10 h 50 min into the flight
  41. Shengtang Mountain, 1,935 m — on the left, 109 km away9,250 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
  42. Lianjiang, People's Republic of China — on the right, 28 km away9,470 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  43. Gaozhou, People's Republic of China — on the left, 38 km away9,480 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  44. Zhanjiang, People's Republic of China — on the right, 46 km away9,520 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  45. South China Sea — 1,530 km without land9,530 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  46. Below: Spratly Islands10,840 km · ≈ 12 h 40 min into the flight
  47. Below: Philippines11,010 km · ≈ 12 h 55 min into the flight
  48. Below: Palawan Island11,060 km · ≈ 13 h 00 min into the flight
  49. Land again11,060 km · ≈ 13 h 00 min into the flight
  50. Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea — 1,130 km without land11,120 km · ≈ 13 h 00 min into the flight
  51. Below: Sulu Archipelago11,520 km · ≈ 13 h 30 min into the flight
  52. Below: Greater Sunda Islands12,080 km · ≈ 14 h 10 min into the flight
  53. Below: Sulawesi12,250 km · ≈ 14 h 20 min into the flight
  54. Land again12,250 km · ≈ 14 h 20 min into the flight
  55. Molucca Sea and Ceram Sea — 1,650 km without land12,310 km · ≈ 14 h 25 min into the flight
  56. Below: Malay Archipelago12,310 km · ≈ 14 h 25 min into the flight
  57. Below: Maluku Islands12,370 km · ≈ 14 h 30 min into the flight
  58. Local time below changes: UTC+8 to UTC+912,420 km · ≈ 14 h 30 min into the flight
  59. Below: Tanimbar Islands13,450 km · ≈ 15 h 40 min into the flight
  60. Below: Melanesia13,500 km · ≈ 15 h 45 min into the flight
  61. Local time below changes: UTC+9 to UTC+9:3013,840 km · ≈ 16 h 10 min into the flight
  62. Below: Arnhem Land13,960 km · ≈ 16 h 20 min into the flight
  63. Land again13,960 km · ≈ 16 h 20 min into the flight
  64. Below: Barkly Tableland14,580 km · ≈ 17 h 00 min into the flight
  65. Local time below changes: UTC+9:30 to UTC+1014,920 km · ≈ 17 h 25 min into the flight
  66. Below: Great Artesian Basin15,320 km · ≈ 17 h 50 min into the flight
  67. Local time below changes: UTC+10 to UTC+1116,340 km · ≈ 19 h 00 min into the flight
  68. Below: Murray–Darling basin16,400 km · ≈ 19 h 05 min into the flight
  69. Below: Great Dividing Range16,740 km · ≈ 19 h 30 min into the flight
  70. Below: Blue Mountains16,850 km · ≈ 19 h 35 min into the flight
  71. Landing at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport17,020 km · ≈ 19 h 50 min into the flight

Times assume a typical jet speed, no wind and an on-time departure. Good for orientation, not for your watch.

Which side the sun, sunrise or sunset will be on

Enter the day and take-off time. Your phone does the maths: the sun's position on every leg of the route, relative to the nose of the aircraft.

Take-offLanding

Sky: light is daytime, amber is sunrise or sunset, dark is night. Left and Right show which side the sun is on for each leg.

Follow the route offline in airplane mode

All of this on board and with no signal: with your phone in airplane mode, Modo Avión shows where you are, what's below and how long is left. GPS still works, because it only listens to satellites.

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Arriving in Sydney

Sydney
Sydney · Photo: W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Flight time and distance

About 20 h 05 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

10,580 miles (17,020 km, 9,190 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC+1London
397 kmUTC+2Amsterdam
1,480 kmUTC+3Riga
3,400 kmUTC+4Samara
3,460 kmUTC+3Moscow
3,570 kmUTC+5Yekaterinburg
5,790 kmUTC+8Shanghai
12,420 kmUTC+9Jayapura
13,840 kmUTC+9:30Darwin
14,920 kmUTC+10Brisbane
16,340 kmUTC+11Sydney

Airspace (FIRs) along the route

Each is a control region: when the aircraft crosses the boundary, the centre talking to the pilot changes. Boundaries are approximate, from the VATSIM data set, not the official ICAO chart.

  • London
  • Amsterdam
  • Bremen
  • Kobenhavn
  • Sweden
  • Kaliningrad
  • Vilnius
  • Riga
  • Peterburg
  • Moscow
  • Samara
  • Ural
  • Astana
  • Almaty
  • Urumqi
  • Lanzhou
  • Kunming
  • Nanning
  • Hong Kong
  • Manila
  • Ujung Pandang
  • Brisbane (Arafura) 133.7* (125.7)
  • Brisbane (Territory North) 123.85
  • Brisbane (Territory South) 133.2* (123.85)
  • Brisbane (Arafura) 133.7* (125.7)
  • Brisbane (Territory South) 133.2* (123.85)
  • Brisbane (Arafura) 133.7* (125.7)
  • Brisbane (Isa) 125.7
  • Melbourne (Alice Springs) 128.85
  • Brisbane (Armidale) 130.9
  • Melbourne (Bindook) 129.8* (133.15)

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from London to Sydney?

Along the shortest route, the flight from London to Sydney covers 10,580 miles (17,020 km) — about 20 h 05 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. It crosses the North Sea, the Wadden Sea and the Baltic Sea: 32% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+1 and land on UTC+11.

What countries do you fly over from London to Sydney?

It passes over or close to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia, and crosses the North Sea, the Wadden Sea and the Baltic Sea. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from London to Sydney?

About 20 h 05 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

How far is London from Sydney by plane?

10,580 miles (17,020 km, 9,190 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

How much of the flight is over water?

32% of the route, about 5,450 km. The longest stretch without land is 1,650 km.

Why doesn't the plane fly in a straight line on the map?

It does fly straight — on a sphere. On a flat map the shortest path looks curved; on the globe on this page it looks like what it is.

Does GPS work in airplane mode?

Yes. GPS is a receiver: it listens to satellites and transmits nothing, so it keeps working in airplane mode. What you won't have is a map unless you downloaded it; Modo Avión carries its own.

More routes

The way back: Sydney → London

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How this was calculated

The route is the great-circle arc between both airports, split into 300 points. At each point a point-in-polygon test runs against 1,102 airspace regions, 418 time zones and 1,338 physical geography regions. Countries are those with a town within 25 km of the route: in empty areas one may be missing. Cities named have over 250,000 people and lie within 110 km.

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