Accra → London (ACC–LHR): five things people get wrong about this flight

Accra to London is a seven-hour overnight flight between two cities that share a clock for half the year. It looks like one of the easiest long-hauls out of West Africa, and mostly it is. But a handful of assumptions about it are out of date or were never right. Here they are, one at a time, with what’s actually true.

Myth 1: “There’s no time difference, so there’s no jet lag”

Half right. Ghana stays on UTC+0, Greenwich Mean Time, all year with no daylight saving (Africa/Accra in the IANA time zone database). The UK uses GMT in winter but moves to British Summer Time (UTC+1) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. In 2026 the clocks went forward on 29 March and go back on 25 October.

So you won’t get classic jet lag. What you will get is the cost of an overnight flight: a 22:10 departure, a short night and landing at Heathrow around 06:00. That’s the same tiredness you’d get from a late night at home. Plan a quiet first day, and remember the one-hour shift from late March to late October, especially when you’re timing calls home or a meeting. (Our time-zone maths explainer covers why one-hour gaps cause more missed calls than big ones.)

Myth 2: “The UK’s new ETA means Ghanaians don’t need a visa any more”

No. The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation is a £20 permission for nationalities that didn’t need a visa before, such as Americans and most Europeans. It isn’t a cheaper replacement for a visa. Ghanaian passport holders are still visa nationals for the UK and need a Standard Visitor visa for a holiday, a family visit or most business trips.

The current figures from GOV.UK:

• Fee: £135 for a visit of up to six months.
• Decision time: usually within three weeks after you’ve submitted documents and biometrics.
• Earliest application: three months before travel.

If you hold another passport, or UK residence, the answer may differ. Run your own details through the official Check if you need a UK visa tool. Ignore websites that look like the government’s and charge extra. GOV.UK warns about them specifically.

Practical timing: if your trip is around Christmas or the summer holidays, apply as soon as the three-month window opens. Three weeks is the usual time, not a promise.

Myth 3: “You can pick between BA and Virgin”

Not at the moment. Virgin Atlantic planned to return to Accra in 2025, more than a decade after it suspended the route. The launch was postponed and then cancelled outright, and customers were rebooked. At the time of writing, British Airways is the only nonstop operator on ACC–LHR, flying a Boeing 777 daily:

Flight	Departs Accra	Arrives Heathrow	Scheduled time
BA78	22:10, Kotoka Terminal 3	06:15 next day (BST), Terminal 5	7h05

Times from FlightStats for early October; after 25 October the London arrival time shifts with the clocks.

The great-circle distance is 5,100 km (3,169 mi). Our site’s distance-based estimate is about 6h23 in the air, and BA’s schedule adds the usual time for taxiing and routing. Our ACC–LHR route page still lists the airlines in the historical OpenFlights snapshot, so treat it as background, not a timetable.

With only one nonstop airline, it’s worth checking a range of dates and some one-stop options via European or Gulf hubs if price matters more than time. KAYAK Partner shows a whole month of fares at once. One-stop itineraries can come with their own transit-visa rules, so check them before you book.

Myth 4: “Change your cedis when you land”

Generally a bad idea. The cedi is a currency many UK bureaux don’t stock, and the ones that do tend to offer a wide spread. The cedi also moves a lot. The Bank of Ghana’s own figures show it fell 7.9% against the dollar and 6.5% against the pound in the first half of 2026, after a strong rise in 2025. On 16 October 2026, the central bank’s interbank mid-rate was about GHS 15.55 to the pound. Bureau and card rates will be worse.

What works better:

• Spend down your cedis before departure and keep only a little for the ride home when you return.
• Use a card for London. Contactless payment is accepted almost everywhere, including on the Tube, so you need very little cash. A multi-currency card or account usually beats your bank’s foreign transaction fee; our travel money card comparison goes through the options.
• Know the cash rules at both ends. Ghana requires you to declare hard currency on arrival, and the UK FCDO notes that Ghanaian authorities can confiscate the entire amount if you carry the equivalent of US$10,000 or more. Bear that in mind on the way home. On arrival in Britain you must declare £10,000 or more in cash.

Our currency page has today’s GHS–GBP rate if you’re budgeting.

Myth 5: “Heathrow’s Heathrow; just get the Tube”

BA78 arrives at Terminal 5, which has its own rail station. That matters at 06:15, when you’re tired and carrying bags. From T5 you have three rail options, per Heathrow’s Wikipedia entry:

• Heathrow Express: nonstop to London Paddington, about 21 minutes from T5. The fastest and most expensive option.
• Elizabeth line: a stopping service right through central London, about 35 minutes. Some trains start at T5, others at T4.
• Piccadilly line: the Tube, about 40 to 50 minutes. The cheapest option, but the slowest, and not every central station has step-free access.

All three take contactless. In practice, take the Elizabeth line if you’re staying east or central, the Piccadilly if you’re going west and want to save money, and the Express only if you’re staying near Paddington or someone else is paying.

UK plugs are Type G, the same three-pin standard Ghana uses alongside older round-pin Type D, so Ghanaian Type G chargers work straight away. If you have round-pin plugs, our UK plug adaptor guide says what to buy. For data on arrival, an eSIM set up before you leave Accra saves hunting for a SIM at 06:30. Airalo Partner has UK plans.

The order to do things in

1. Three months out: check your visa status with the GOV.UK checker; if you need a Standard Visitor visa, apply.
2. Once the visa is issued: book the flight. With BA as the only nonstop, earlier usually means more fare choice.
3. A week out: check online and confirm Terminal 3 at Kotoka. Set up UK data and your card.
4. Departure day: spend your remaining cedis, keep your visa decision and return ticket handy, and get to the airport early for a 22:10 departure.
5. Arrival: have your passport, visa details and return booking ready for UK border control, then follow the signs from T5 arrivals to the train.

Our LHR airport page and UK country page cover the rest. If you’re coming from Lagos instead, the Lagos to London guide covers that route.