Planning an India trip from the UK
The UK has the shortest, most frequent route into India of any Western country — here's how to use that.
4 min read
Britain's long travel history with India means the UK has some of the best flight connectivity into the country of any Western market — which changes the planning calculus compared to, say, the US or Australia.
Flight routes and duration
London Heathrow to Delhi runs about 8.5–10.75 hours nonstop, and to Mumbai around 8.5 hours — among the shortest India routes from any major Western city. Air India, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and IndiGo all fly the London–Delhi route directly, with dozens of weekly departures between them, so schedule flexibility is rarely the constraint UK travellers face.
The jet lag math
India Standard Time is a fixed UTC+5:30 year-round. That's 5.5 hours ahead of UK winter time (GMT) and 4.5 hours ahead during UK summer time (BST) — a much gentler adjustment than transatlantic travellers face, and most people acclimatise within a day.
Before you fly
Confirm your e-Visa is approved and printed (see our visa and entry guide). Indian power outlets are 230V/50Hz — the same voltage as the UK — so a simple plug-shape adapter is all most UK electronics need, no voltage converter required.
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