What is the Best London Airport to Choose?
Choosing which London airport for your trip can be complicated if you aren’t familiar with their differences and locations. As an American living in London since 2013, I’ve had a lot of experience learning what makes one better than the other.
If there was an easy answer for everyone, you probably wouldn’t be reading this! However, with the information below you will be able to make a decision on what is the best for you.
And, if you’re struggling to plan your London trip, use our London Travel Planning page to get started.
London Airport Options
The array of choices you have for airports near London can be confusing. To judge by name, you would find 6 options identified as a London airport. From largest to smallest they are: Heathrow Airport (LHR), Gatwick Airport (LGW), London Stansted Airport (STN), London Luton Airport (LLA), London City Airport (LCY) and London Southend Airport (SEN).
However, bigger isn’t always better. For international travel, bigger airports usually mean more time for checking in, going through security, boarding your flight, going through Border Control and waiting in baggage claim.
When deciding what is the best London airport to choose, you need to consider distance because only one airport is really located close to Central London. That’s area of London which is the most popular place for travellers to choose a hotel during a visit. In order of closest distance to greatest, the options are below.
- London City Airport, 14 km (9 miles)
- Heathrow, 26 km (16 miles)
- Gatwick, 45 km (28 miles)
- Luton, 55km (34 miles)
- Stansted, 63 km (39 miles)
- Southend, 64 km (40 miles)
Hotels
If you haven’t booked your hotel yet for your London trip, here’s an interactive map to get you started! It’s based on the most central location in town.
Which is Most Popular
Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport are the popular options for first time travellers to London. To be honest, they are the two my husband (who has lived his entire life in London) and I choose most. We prefer to pay more for convenience and nearly always book flights on British Airways due to their numerous amount of flights to the continent.
If we book really early flights from Gatwick, we stay at a hotel near the airport because we live in North London. For transportation, we use Heathrow Express, Uber, London Underground or Gatwick Express. Arriving early gives me plenty of time to hit World Duty Free.
If cheap ticket prices are your top concern, you will likely find the best deals through the other London airports. When I say cheap, I mean like £30 each way or less to European destinations! However, these discount airlines tend to charge to choose a seat, bring a carry on, check in a bag and basically breath on the plane- in our opinion. The seats also offer very, very little legroom.
Ryanair actually uses this whole concept of having to pay extra for absolutely everything as a unique selling point on their social media accounts. They make no apologies!
If you want a really clear comparison between Heathrow and Gatwick, it’s just one of the many things I outline it (plus cost differences) in my London Travel Planners.
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Let’s take a look at other options to consider for what is the best London airport to choose. These options would appeal to people travelling between London and other UK or European destinations.
London Stansted Airport
London Stansted gives access to 200 destinations across Europe, Middle East and Africa. It has one main passenger terminal.
With regard to transportation, Stansted Airport Railway station is in the terminal building. Stansted Express goes to and from Liverpool Street in central London every 15 minutes when trains are running. If you book advance online tickets, you can pay from £9.90 one way between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. This offer allows you a fully flexible ticket.
You can travel on any train on the outbound date you book and can return anytime within a month. This option is available up to 6 months in advance. Keep in mind there is limited availability, so you would want to book early.
The journey usually takes roughly 45-53 minutes. The busiest routes from Stansted Airport are: Dublin, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Edinburgh, Rome-Ciampino and Tenerife-South. The most popular airlines are below.
- British Airways
- easyJet
- Emirates
- Jet2.com
- Ryanair
- TUI Airways
London Luton Airport
Luton is 28 miles north of Central London. It’s the 5th busiest airport in the UK and has 1 terminal and a single runway. Luton Airport is the base and head office location for easyJet. Most of its routes are through Europe. Generally, you would fly on the airlines below at really great ticket prices.
- easyJet
- Ryanair
- TUI Airways
- Vueling
The fastest train between St Pancras station in Central London and Luton Airport Parkway railway station takes 22 minutes, but they average 40 minutes. There is a 10-minute shuttle bus between the railway station and the airport terminal. You can check National Rail for details, but a Super Off-Peak ticket Single is £13.10.
London City Airport
This airport opened officially in 1987 and is quite small compared to other London airports. It has a single, two story passenger terminal building. They claim you can get ‘From front door to gate in 30 minutes’.
The British Airways business (Club World) London City Service claims to be the smartest way to reach New York City. The exclusively business-class service is the closest a commercial flight gets to a private jet. You are also able to clear immigration en-route so you can skip the queues at JFK. There are only 32 seats on the airplane.
The London City Airport is busiest during winter months. And, the most popular destinations are: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dublin, Edinburgh, Zürich, Geneva and Milan. Airlines flying in and out of London City Airport are below.
- Aer Lingus
- British Airways
- Iberia
- KLM
- Lufthansa
- Luxair
- Swiss International Air Lines
The most popular transportation option (and the cheapest) would be Docklands Light Railway. You can use a contactless card or Oyster card on it and easily connect to the London Underground and London Overground. The Elizabeth Line can take you to Stratford or Canning Town and you can make a change to the DLR for a short ride to London City Airport.
London Southend Airport
As the furthest ‘London’ airport, you would choose this one if you plan a holiday on the east coast of England and are renting a car.
The main rail link between the airport and London Liverpool Street is the Stansted Express. It’s operated by Greater Anglia, with frequent departures (about four per hour on weekdays) and journey times around 45-48 minutes into the City. The airport has up to five services an hour during peak times.
You can purchase tickets at the station from the ticket office and ticket vending machines. Off-peak single fares start at £16.70 to Liverpool street. They give discounts for railcards, travelcards and groups.
Advance fares booked ahead can start from around £14–£17 one way. Standard rail discounts for eligible railcards and groups apply. Tickets can be purchased online, at the station ticket office or from ticket machines. You must have a valid ticket before boarding as Oyster/contactless pay-as-you-go is not yet generally accepted on this service.
Final Thoughts
I wish it was one simple answer for everyone. If you are travelling solo to London on business and plan to be mostly in the City or Canary Wharf area, then London City Airport is the best for you.
A couple or family on holiday might consider Heathrow Airport and then an Uber or Heathrow Express. A budget traveller with some extra time would also consider Heathrow Airport, but then take the Elizabeth Line or Piccadilly Line in to Central London. People travelling from the continent would probably use Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or London City with train travel to Central London once landing.
For those who have visited London or live in London, what is the best airport to choose for your circumstances? Do you prefer one consistently over another? Does an airline loyalty programme make a big difference? Is it time, budget and/or convenience?
