There are currently 6 airports in and around London. Crazy, right? With so many options, choosing the right airport when travelling to London can be quite a pain. Here’s my quick guide to London Airports to make your travel planning a little easier.
London Airport Guide
Heathrow Airport
The largest and the busiest, this is the main airport serving London. You can easily get into the city by public transport or taxi. London Underground’s Piccadilly line has frequent connections between Heathrow Airport (Zone 6) and Zone 1 with a journey time of about 45 minutes. There’s another option, Heathrow Express, that takes about 15 minutes to reach Paddington station. However, unless you’re in a real hurry, I wouldn’t recommend it as it’s quite expensive. Click here for more details.
City Airport
Situated in the Docklands area, this is the smallest airport serving London. It has limited flights, mainly short haul, and is generally more popular with business travellers. Due to its location (Zone 3), it has easy and fast access into the city by both public transport and taxi. There is a DLR train that links it to Bank station and connections with the Underground network is easily possible. Click here for more details.
Gatwick Airport
Situated outside London, Gatwick is the second busiest airport serving London. Southern trains connect Gatwick with London Victoria station while Thameslink trains connect it with London Bridge and London Blackfriars station. There is also a dedicated train service called Gatwick Express between the airport and London Victoria station. The most affordable option is to take the National Express that runs a coach service between Gatwick and London Victoria too. Being almost 30 miles outside the city, getting into London is not cheap. For the best deals, book online in advance. Click here for more details.
Stansted Airport
Situated about 30 miles outside London, Stansted caters towards more budget and short-haul flights, specially to/from Europe. In terms of public transport, the only two options are Stansted Express (train) connecting to London Liverpool Street station and National Express coach (bus) connecting to various locations in London. Buses are more frequent and affordable as compared to the train and in both cases booking online in advance is advisable. Click here for more details.
Luton Airport
Luton Airport is also located about 35 miles outside London. There is a shuttle bus that runs between the airport and Luton Airport Parkway train station from where you can get trains to London’s St Pancras and a few other stations. The total journey time is about 40 minutes. National Express coach services are also available. For the best deals, book online in advance. Click here for more details.
Southend Airport
Furthest from London (about 40 miles), not too busy and catering to short-haul budget flights, Southend Airport is also an option to consider specially since you can get to London Liverpool Street by direct frequent trains in about an hour on weekdays. It could take about 2 hours on weekends due to indirect trains. For the best deals, book online in advance. Click here for more details.
Here are some useful links for planning your journey and booking the tickets.
Trainline – For booking train tickets for outside London.
National Express: For booking bus tickets for outside London.
TFL – Journey planner within London, status updates for all Underground/Overground/DLR/TFL Rail services.
I hope you found this London Airport Guide useful. If you liked this post, don’t forget to leave me a comment and share on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest. After all, sharing is caring 😉
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Cheers,
Ameeta xx
