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Weather, politics and local regulations can affect the choice of airspace and flight corridors. Flightpaths.com lets you see the real flight paths and compare passenger airlines and flight times simplified on an interactive map.

London to Shanghai flight path – Actual airspace usage

Flights from London (LHR), United Kingdom to Shanghai (PVG), China illustrated on a map. Based on 211 recorded flights, the distance can vary between 5797 and 6750 miles.

When traveling from Heathrow in London to the main airport in Shanghai the flight paths vary between different airlines – learn more about the differences and see our interactive route maps.

LHR-PVG
LHR-PVG

The great-circle distance, in other words the shortest distance possible, between the two major airports London Heathrow and Shanghai Pudong is about 9,200 kilometers. With that being said, the actual flight paths used by the airlines operating on this route differ from this distance.

There are currently two airlines who operate direct flights between the two airports – British Airways and China Eastern. But as you can tell from our maps, these two airlines choose quite different paths on the route from London to Shanghai. To learn more about the actual flight paths, take a look at the lists below. Here we present the exact flight time used in each country by the airlines offering this route.

Recorded 2025-12-23 - 2026-01-27
BA169
6689 miles
Last 10 flight recordings
BA169
01/27/2026
B772
6689 miles
BA169
01/26/2026
B772
6634 miles
BA169
01/25/2026
B772
6667 miles
BA169
01/24/2026
B772
6642 miles
BA169
01/23/2026
B772
6676 miles
BA169
01/22/2026
B772
6645 miles
BA169
12/26/2025
B772
6642 miles
BA169
12/25/2025
B772
6720 miles
BA169
12/24/2025
B772
6750 miles
BA169
12/23/2025
B772
6668 miles
BA169 01/27/2026
Calculated airspace usage
Azerbaijan
23 min
Austria
11 min
Belgium
17 min
Bulgaria
6 min
China
142 min
Czech Republic
10 min
Georgia
5 min
Germany
28 min
Hungary
22 min
Kazakhstan
75 min
Romania
36 min
United Kingdom
13 min
Uzbekistan
3 min
Over water
46 min
LHR-PVG
China Eastern
Recorded 2025-12-23 - 2026-01-27
MU552
5806 miles
Last 10 flight recordings
MU552
01/27/2026
B77W
5806 miles
MU552
01/26/2026
B77W
5797 miles
MU552
01/25/2026
B77W
5894 miles
MU552
01/24/2026
B773
5805 miles
MU552
01/23/2026
B77W
5820 miles
MU552
01/22/2026
B77W
5826 miles
MU552
12/26/2025
B77W
5878 miles
MU552
12/25/2025
B77W
5892 miles
MU552
12/24/2025
B773
5895 miles
MU552
12/23/2025
B773
5820 miles
MU552 01/27/2026
Calculated airspace usage
China
163 min
Denmark
10 min
Estonia
9 min
Germany
2 min
Mongolia
72 min
Russia
180 min
Sweden
19 min
United Kingdom
17 min
Over water
70 min
LHR-PVG
Great-circle distance
The shortest distance
5742 miles
Country airspace usage
China
20 / 20 recorded flights
United Kingdom
20 / 20 recorded flights
Over water
20 / 20 recorded flights
Germany
19 / 20 recorded flights
Azerbaijan
10 / 20 recorded flights
Belgium
10 / 20 recorded flights
Georgia
10 / 20 recorded flights
Kazakhstan
10 / 20 recorded flights
Denmark
10 / 20 recorded flights
Mongolia
10 / 20 recorded flights
Russia
10 / 20 recorded flights
Sweden
10 / 20 recorded flights
Hungary
9 / 20 recorded flights
Romania
9 / 20 recorded flights
Austria
9 / 20 recorded flights
Estonia
9 / 20 recorded flights
Czech Republic
8 / 20 recorded flights
Bulgaria
6 / 20 recorded flights
Netherlands
5 / 20 recorded flights
Slovakia
4 / 20 recorded flights
France
2 / 20 recorded flights
Slovenia
2 / 20 recorded flights
Serbia
2 / 20 recorded flights
Uzbekistan
1 / 20 recorded flights
Switzerland
1 / 20 recorded flights
Bosnia and Herzegovina
1 / 20 recorded flights
Croatia
1 / 20 recorded flights
Italy
1 / 20 recorded flights
Luxembourg
1 / 20 recorded flights

So how come there is such a big difference between the flight path chosen by British Airways and China Eastern? In general there are several reasons behind how different airlines choose their routes, with the common goal to always minimize the flight time and distance. Circumstances that can affect the flight path are for example weather conditions and certain flight corridors. However the largest impact on the flight paths is usually on-going conflicts on the ground, causing airlines both to avoid and in some cases be banned from the airspace of certain countries.

In the case of the flight between London, United Kingdom, and Shanghai, China, the large difference in the flight paths between the operating airlines has to do with the on-going conflicts in both Russia/Ukraine and parts of the Middle East. In February 2025 the entire airspace in Ukraine is closed for civil flights. When it comes to Russian airspace the area is currently not being used by most European airlines, including British Airways, caused by a ban against countries supporting Ukraine. On the other hand many Asian airlines, such as China Eastern, still use Russian airspace on their flights. Distance wise this gives the Chinese airline a flight path that is more than 1,000 kilometers shorter than the path used by the British flag carrier. As you can tell from the map at the top of the page, British Airways also chooses to avoid certain parts of the Middle East due to the on-going conflicts in the area.

Note! This route was also offered by Virgin Atlantic until October 2024.

You can also check the reverse route: Shanghai to London

British Airways
Recorded 2025-12-23 - 2026-01-27
BA169
6689 miles
Last 10 flight recordings
BA169
01/27/2026
B772
6689 miles
BA169
01/26/2026
B772
6634 miles
BA169
01/25/2026
B772
6667 miles
BA169
01/24/2026
B772
6642 miles
BA169
01/23/2026
B772
6676 miles
BA169
01/22/2026
B772
6645 miles
BA169
12/26/2025
B772
6642 miles
BA169
12/25/2025
B772
6720 miles
BA169
12/24/2025
B772
6750 miles
BA169
12/23/2025
B772
6668 miles
China Eastern
Recorded 2025-12-23 - 2026-01-27
MU552
5806 miles
Last 10 flight recordings
MU552
01/27/2026
B77W
5806 miles
MU552
01/26/2026
B77W
5797 miles
MU552
01/25/2026
B77W
5894 miles
MU552
01/24/2026
B773
5805 miles
MU552
01/23/2026
B77W
5820 miles
MU552
01/22/2026
B77W
5826 miles
MU552
12/26/2025
B77W
5878 miles
MU552
12/25/2025
B77W
5892 miles
MU552
12/24/2025
B773
5895 miles
MU552
12/23/2025
B773
5820 miles
Great-circle distance
The shortest distance
5742 miles
3D Globe
2D Map
LHR PVG
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Loading 2 airlines and 20 flight recording based on 3012 data points.