London is well known for having far more airports than almost any other major city, with six different international gateways from which thousands of flights depart daily. While in the United States, having even one such airport being well-connected by reliable public transportation would be impressive, all six of London’s major airports are surprisingly well-connected by a combination of metropolitan and regional rail services. As a result, those living in central London can be sure that they will be able to efficiently get to and from the city’s principal air travel gateways.
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However, there is an interesting question that emerges when one takes a deeper look at these facilities, and that is which of the six London airports is the best connected to the city by public transportation. While this may seem fairly straightforward to answer, several nuances make it difficult to determine exactly which facility is the best connected. Many may think that the airport which is best connected would be that with the most efficient rail links to the city center. However, the answer is a little more complex.
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London is a massive city, with dozens of boroughs and an enormous metropolitan region. Taking a London Underground line from one side of London to the other side will take an entire hour or so (depending on which specific service you take), and there are dozens of different transit systems within the Greater London Area that serve the surrounding counties and suburban communities. As a result, we will attempt to determine which London Airport is the best connected to the city as a whole by public transportation. It is important to note that there are bus services to and from each airport as well, but as these are pretty ubiquitous, we will focus exclusively on rail-based ground transportation for this discussion.
Your changes have been saved London Heathrow Airport IATA/ICAO Code LHR-EGLL Country United Kingdom CEO John Holland-Kaye Terminals Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 4 | Terminal 5
The six airports are spread across the London Area
London’s six major airports are evenly spread around the surrounding counties, with two of the facilities, London City Airport (LCY) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) being located within Greater London itself. Both London Luton Airport (LTN) and London Stansted Airport (STN) are located to the north of the city and serve London alongside surrounding communities in nearby counties.
Photo: Darryl Brooks | Shutterstock
London Gatwick Airport (LGW), the city’s other main gateway, is located south of the city and serves a region that spreads from South London to the coast. London Southend Airport (SEN), the final facility that is officially designated as a London Airport, is so far to the east of the city that many will even debate whether it should even be considered one of the metropolitan area’s airports. Most will argue that it primarily exists as a smaller regional hub for traffic to and from the counties to the east of the city.
Let’s start by eliminating the airports which are the worst connected to London by public transportation
It is very easy to immediately eliminate London Southend Airport (SEN) from consideration as the city’s best-connected airport. The only way to get to and from the airport by railway is to take a train from Southend Airport station. According to the airport’s website, up to six trains run per hour during the peak periods, something which may seem like a lot for Americans unfamiliar with the impressive efficiency of European railway infrastructure.
Photo: London Southend Airport
From Southend, it takes about 40 minutes to get to Stratford Station, a major transportation hub in East London, and about an hour to get to Liverpool Street Station in the heart of London. From Stratford, passengers can access the Elizabeth Line, the London Underground’s Jubilee Line, the London Overground, and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), and from Liverpool Street station, connections are available to the Elizabeth Line and three different London Underground lines.
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The airport’s extremely poor connection to West London, however, is what immediately eliminates it from consideration here. If you’re traveling from most of the western half of the city, you should expect up to two hours of travel time to and from Southend.
Please note that the Elizabeth Line is not a London Underground line. It is an independent high-capacity urban rail line operated by Transport for London (TfL) that was opened in May 2022, according to the operator itself.
London Stansted Airport (STN), which is also located Northeast of London, struggles with many of the same issues as Southend. The airport is located far from the city center and is only connected by regional rail services. Again, these trains only go to Stratford and Liverpool Street, with just four express trains leaving the airport’s station per hour. Furthermore, Stansted and Southend’s rail stations do not accept Oyster cards or contactless payments, the system that is used by most stations and lines across the entire London area. For these reasons, we can also cross Stansted off of our list.
Photo: London Stansted Airport
Gatwick and Luton are also not the best connected by public transportation
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and London Luton Airport (LTN) are two airports that serve London that are moderately well-connected to the greater metropolitan area. Luton Airport Parkway, a railway station connected to the airport itself by a shuttle train called the DART, is served not just by regional rail services from East Midlands Railway but also by Thameslink, a Crossrail service similar to that offered by the Elizabeth Line.
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At any given time, there are not only over five trains per hour heading from Luton directly to St. Pancras railway station, but there are services from Thameslink that serve communities across South London, offering one-seat connectivity beyond central London to the opposite side of the metropolitan area. From the many Thameslink stops within Central London, passengers can easily access any of the city’s urban railway systems, including all London Underground lines, Crossrail, the London Overground, and the London Trams.
Photo: Gatwick Express
According to Transport for London, Gatwick Airport is served not just by Thameslink, but also by the Great Western Railway (GWR), the Southern Railway, and the Gatwick Express. While GWR services connect to destinations in the South of England beyond the city, Southern and Gatwick Express both offer efficient connectivity to Victoria Station in the heart of London, from which passengers can access the Victoria Line, the Circle Line, and the District Line.
Your changes have been saved London Gatwick Airport IATA/ICAO Code LGW/EGKK Country United Kingdom CEO Stewart Wingate Terminals North Terminal | South Terminal
Our pick for the best-connected airport in London by public transportation may not come as a surprise
The final two airports for us to choose between to determine the best-connected airport in London by public transportation are the two that are served by the city’s major urban rail systems. For starters, London City Airport is served by the Docklands Light Railway, offering unparalleled connectivity to major London transport interchanges like Bank, Canary Wharf, and Stratford. The airport is also the closest physically to London’s city center.
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Heathrow Airport is extremely well-connected to the entire metropolitan area. The facility is connected to Paddington station by the Heathrow Express train and also offers Elizabeth Line and London Underground access. Passengers can use the Picadilly Line to easily access destinations in Central and North London, while the Elizabeth Line offers speedy access across the entire metropolitan region. Getting from Heathrow to most of London in about an hour is relatively straightforward.
Photo: London Heathrow Airport
For these reasons, Heathrow is our choice for London’s best-connected airport by public transportation, something that will not likely come as a surprise considering that it is the city’s largest and most important gateway. London City Airport, despite being the closest to Central London, does not have efficient connectivity to North and West London, due to it only having a DLR station and not a proper underground line. This is likely the result of the facility being primarily designed to serve business travelers, who require convenient access to the city’s major business districts, such as nearby Canary Wharf. Should future projects expand London’s airport transport links, this could alter our conclusion on this question, but for now, Heathrow remains the city’s best-connected airport.