The complete guide to London airports

Did you know there are six major commercial London airports to choose from?

• London City Airport and Heathrow are the most centrally located
• Luton and Stansted tend to be best for budget travellers
• Gatwick offers a good balance of cost and connectivity

Did you know London has six major commercial airports? That’s right – the capital of the UK has more commercial airports than any other city in the world, except New York, which has seven! So it comes as no surprise that London is one of the busiest aviation hubs in the world – in 2023, over 168 million passengers moved through London airports.

Passengers departing from, flying to or passing through London have a huge amount of choice when it comes to flights. However, navigating the city’s vast network of airports can be a little daunting. In this guide, we’ll take you through the ins and outs of every London airport, and cover the pros and cons of each option.

6 London airports

Ready to find out a little more about London’s six major commercial airports? Here’s an overview of what you can expect from each aviation hub:

1. London Heathrow (LHR)
2. London Gatwick (LGW)
3. London Stansted (STN)
4. London Luton (LTN)
5. London City (LCY)
6. London Southend (SEN)

1. London Heathrow (LHR)

Let’s start with London’s largest and busiest airport. In 2024, Heathrow was the fifth busiest airport in the world, handling some 83.9 million passengers! And last year, it was crowned the most connected airport in the world for the second year running. For these reasons, many would consider it the main airport in London.

London Heathrow Airport is home to more than 80 airlines, which serve more than 80 countries and over 200 destinations worldwide. There are four operational terminals (2, 3, 4 and 5) and two runways.

However, Heathrow doesn’t really do budget airlines – traditional low-cost carriers like easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2 and Wizz Air don’t have a home at Heathrow, but fly out of alternative London airports.

There’s plenty to entertain you while you’re waiting for your flight, from premium lounges and restaurants to duty free shops and kids’ play areas. And if you have a longer layover, you can use the gyms and spas at nearby airport hotels.

How to get to London Heathrow

London Heathrow Airport is located around 15 miles west of Central London, within the London Borough of Hillingdon.

Travelling by road in a city as busy and congested as London can be a headache, so while jumping in a taxi may seem like the most relaxing way to get to Heathrow, your journey will likely be a lot shorter on the Tube.

The Piccadilly Line will take you directly from a number of central London locations–including King’s Cross and Piccadilly Circus–to Heathrow terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 in roughly 50 minutes. The service runs every ten minutes or less. Standard operating hours are between 05:00 and 23:30.

The Elizabeth Line also covers Heathrow terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5, with six trains an hour speeding through central London to reach the airport.

Alternatively, catch the Tube to London Paddington, where you can catch the Heathrow Express train – it only takes 15 minutes.

2. London Gatwick (LGW)

Gatwick is the second busiest airport in the UK, after Heathrow.

Gatwick offers a wide range of aviation experiences – it’s home to budget carriers as well as premium services and even private charter jet companies. More than 45 airlines fly from Gatwick, serving over 150 short-haul and more than 45 long-haul destinations.

At this airport you’ll find two terminals: North Terminal and South Terminal. There’s plenty to do in your free time too, from premium lounges and restaurants and bars, to shops and kids’ zones.

How to get to London Gatwick

Gatwick lies around 28 miles (45 kilometres) south of London, near the town of Crawley.

To get there, take the Gatwick Express from London Victoria Station. This quick service takes just 30 minutes to arrive at Gatwick, with trains departing every 15 minutes. You can reach London Victoria by Tube, but Gatwick doesn’t have its own Underground stop.

Alternatively, book a National Express coach from London Victoria Coach Station to London Gatwick. This is a cheaper way to get to the airport, but it usually takes around two hours. Journey times can vary significantly depending on traffic.

3. London Stansted (STN)

London Stansted Airport is a top option for travellers visiting Europe. This airport is home to a number of popular European budget carriers such as easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair, as well as long-haul airlines, including Emirates and Royal Jordanian. Flights from Stansted transport travellers directly to over 140 destinations, from Rome and Ibiza to Dubai and Marrakech.

There’s just one terminal at Stansted, making it easy to navigate. While waiting for your flight, indulge in some duty free retail therapy, or head to Bottega Prosecco Bar and Cafe for a bite to eat and some bubbles.

How to get to London Stansted

Stansted Airport is 42 miles (68 kilometres) northeast of Central London. The Stansted Express departs Liverpool Street station in central London every 15 minutes, seven days a week. The journey takes around 48 minutes.

Furthermore, two coach services operate between central London and Stansted: National Express and Flibco. Between them, they run several routes with pickups from London hotspots including Liverpool Street station, London Victoria, Shoreditch and Marble Arch.

You can also catch a First Essex bus – the X10, X20, and X30 all terminate at Stansted. If you’re travelling by coach or bus, remember that the duration of your journey can vary significantly depending on traffic.

4. London Luton (LTN)

London Luton is a budget travel hub. Its airlines include low-cost carriers easyJet, Wizz Air, Jet2 and RyanAir, as well as family-friendly package holiday specialist TUI. From here, you can fly to and from more than 30 countries and over 130 destinations across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Luton is pretty easy to navigate – it has one main terminal that handles both arrivals and departures. If you want to relax in a premium lounge ahead of your flight, book into MyLounge or the No1 Lounge. Food and drink options include Pret A Manger, Starbucks and Nolito.

How to get to London Luton

Luton–a town in Bedfordshire–is approximately 30 miles (50 kilometres) north-west of London.

The quickest and easiest way to make this journey from central London is to catch the Luton Express, which departs from London St Pancras International every 30 minutes. It takes just over half an hour to reach the Luton Airport Parkway station. From here it's a four-minute trip on the Luton DART shuttle to the airport itself.

Alternatively, National Express coaches depart central London for Luton 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are four departures per hour during the day. These services run from London Victoria Coach Station and London Paddington Station.

Greenline 757 coaches run to Luton from central London every 30 minutes during the day, and hourly at night, with a large number of pick-up spots including London Victoria and Marble Arch.

5. London City (LCY)

If you’re looking for an airport close to many of the UK capital’s major attractions, it’s got to be London City. The smallest of London’s airports, London City is in the Royal Docks in Newham – around six miles east of the City, and three miles east of Canary Wharf.

Beloved by business travellers and generally thought of as a more exclusive airport, London City is a popular spot for private jets. It’s also home to a number of full-service commercial airlines like British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss Air and Luxair. Here, you can board a plane headed for over 30 European destinations, from Geneva and San Sebastian to Thessaloniki and Zurich.

London City is a small airport, so there’s not a huge number of shops or restaurants – but you’ll be able to stock up on the essentials at Boots, WH Smiths or Aelia Duty Free.

How to get to London City

As the most central airport in the capital, London City is pretty easy to reach. The airport is directly linked to the Underground network via its own Docklands Light Railway. Services run every four-to-ten minutes.

6. London Southend (SEN)

Just two airlines–easyJet and Eastern Airways–operate from London Southend, but they cover 19 of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe. Eastern Airways ferries passengers to Newquay, Cornwall, for getaways on the British coast. Meanwhile, easyJet transports holidaymakers to destinations as wide ranging as Pisa in Italy, Marrakech in Morocco and Lapland in Finland.

Once at the airport, you can recharge before take-off in the premium SKYLIFE lounge, or choose a cafe, bar or pub for a bite to eat and a refreshing drink. You won’t find a huge number of shops at Southend, but there is a World Duty Free and a WHSmith, as well as a currency exchange.

How to get to London Southend

You’ll find London Southend on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. It’s approximately 36 miles (58 kilometres) from the centre of London.

While not the closest airport to London by a long stretch, Southend does boast its own train station, which is just 100 steps from the main terminal building. The station operates up to six services an hour, and offers easy connections to the Tube network. Board at London Liverpool Street, and you should reach the airport in roughly 50 minutes. Alternatively, it’s around 45 minutes from Stratford by rail.

How to choose which London airport is best for you

The London airport you choose to fly to or from will depend on a number of factors, including:

• Where you’re flying from
• Where you’re flying to
• Your budget
• Your airline
• Where you’re staying

Sometimes, only one airport will work – for example if you’re flying to a niche destination or want to travel with a specific airline. However, in many cases you’ll have a choice of London airports. So which one should you choose?

Read on for the pros and cons of each of London’s six major commercial airports.

Pros and cons London Heathrow

There are plenty of advantages to flying from one of the world’s biggest transport hubs.

Heathrow delivers:

• Frequent flights
• An extensive list of exciting destinations
• Plenty of premium and full-service airlines
• A wide range of international connections
• World-class premium amenities.
• Close proximity to London compared to some of the capital’s other airports.

However, there are some downsides to flying from one of the world’s busiest airports.

These include:

• The airport can get really busy
• Lack of low-cost carriers

Pros and cons London Gatwick

The benefits of choosing London Gatwick Airport are that this transport hub:

• Delivers a good balance of cost and connectivity
• Offers plenty of international and domestic routes
• Runs easy public transport links to central London
• Plenty of budget carriers on the books

On the other hand, the disadvantages of flying from here include:

• Not as much international reach as Heathrow
• Fewer premium amenities than Heathrow
• Flights are generally still more expensive than those from less convenient airports (Luton, for example).
• The airport gets pretty busy, especially during peak seasons (although not as busy as Heathrow).

Pros and cons London Stansted

The benefits of flying from London Stansted include that the airport is:

• Home to plenty of budget airlines, so flying from here is often cheaper than many alternatives.
• Efficient rail connections to central London
• Straightforward to navigate

London Stansted does have its disadvantages too, including:

• It’s further out of town than most of London’s other airports.
• It doesn’t offer as wide a range of destinations as Heathrow or Gatwick.
• Fewer amenities than the biggest London airports

Pros and cons London Luton

If you’re a budget traveller heading to a destination in Europe, it’s hard to beat London Luton Airport.

This is because Luton offers:

• Plenty of budget airlines
• Decent public transport links to city centre
• All the essential amenities

However, the cons of flying from London Luton include:

• Less polished than some of its competitors, with fewer premium amenities
• Less convenient location
• Train doesn’t travel directly to airport, so additional shuttle necessary

Pros and cons London City

Flying from or to London City Airport has a range of benefits including:

• Super convenient central London location
• Speedy check-in
• Short security line
• Quick transport links
• Premium and efficient experience

Yet passengers travelling through London City will find that it has:

• Limited routes, mostly to short-haul destinations
• Higher fares

Pros and cons London Southend

So what are the benefits of flying to and from London Southend? This airport is:

• Quiet, and hassle-free
• Short queues
• Quick check-ins
• Easy to navigate
• Plenty of budget fares

However, London Southend has:

• Very limited destinations
• Low flight frequency
• Only two airlines
• Not many amenities
• Quite a long way out of London

FAQ

1. Does London have two airports?

No, London doesn’t have two airports - it has six major commercial airports.

The six commercial airports in London are:

• London Heathrow Airport
• London Gatwick Airport
• London Stansted Airport
• London Luton Airport
• London City Airport
• London Southend Airport

2. Is it better to fly into Gatwick or Heathrow?

It depends! There are plenty of advantages to flying into both London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow.

Heathrow is nearer central London than Gatwick, although both airports have great transport links to the centre of the capital. Furthermore, Heathrow flies to more destinations and has more premium amenities than Gatwick.

On the other hand, Gatwick is smaller, slightly less busy (although often still crowded), and typically offers cheaper flights than Heathrow. And with just two terminals to Heathrow’s four, it’s much easier to navigate.

However, the airport you fly to may not be up to you. If you fly with a budget carrier, you’re probably going to end up at Gatwick, as low-cost airlines don’t operate from Heathrow. Similarly, Heathrow flies to a wider variety of destinations than Gatwick, so if you’re flying in after a long-haul trip, you’re more likely to end up at the larger airport.

3. Which London airport is better?

The best London airport for you depends on your specific needs and requirements.

Heathrow provides unmatched global connectivity and amenities but is busy and costly, while Gatwick is located further out, but strikes a good balance of routes and affordability. Stansted and Luton serve many low-cost flights but are farther from central London, and don’t have the same level of amenities as the bigger airports.

London City is by far the most convenient for central London but has limited routes and higher fares. Meanwhile, London Southend is cheaper and a lot quieter than other airports that serve the city, but it’s a long way out of the city, and, being served by just two airlines, its destinations are super limited.