“Flying to London” doesn’t mean landing in one place. The city is served by six separate airports, scattered across a wide ring around the centre, and which one your flight uses can add well over an hour of extra travel compared to another — sometimes for the same destination on different airlines. If your itinerary doesn’t specify, or you’re choosing between two flights at different airports, here’s what each actually means for your trip once you land.

The Short Version

If you have a genuine choice and no strong reason to pick otherwise, Heathrow or Gatwick are the safer defaults for a first trip: both have fast, reliable rail links straight into central London, and both handle a full mix of airlines rather than being budget-only. Choose Stansted or Luton if the fare saving on a budget airline is significant and you don’t mind an hour-plus transfer with a bag change partway through. London City is worth knowing about if you’re travelling for business or flying from certain European or short-haul routes, since it’s genuinely close to the centre despite being the smallest. Southend is the one to actively avoid unless the fare difference is substantial — it’s London’s airport in name only, over 40 miles from the centre.

Heathrow (LHR): The Default Choice

Heathrow is London’s busiest airport by a wide margin, handling more passengers each year than the next two airports combined, and it’s the main UK hub for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, along with the vast majority of long-haul flag-carrier routes. It sits around 14–16 miles west of central London, across four active terminals, and has the best transport links of any London airport: the Piccadilly line runs directly into the West End and central London in around 50 minutes for a standard Tube fare; the Elizabeth line reaches Paddington in about 30 minutes for a somewhat higher fare; and the Heathrow Express is the fastest option, reaching Paddington in 15 minutes, though it’s also the most expensive if bought on the day (advance fares are considerably cheaper).

Best for: long-haul flights, flag-carrier airlines, and anyone who wants the widest choice of transport options into the centre. Distance: around 14–16 miles / 22–26km west. Fastest transfer: Heathrow Express, 15 minutes to Paddington.

Gatwick (LGW): The Well-Rounded Second Option

Gatwick is London’s second-busiest airport, sitting around 28–33 miles south of the centre, and it strikes a genuine middle ground: a mix of long-haul airlines (including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic) alongside budget carriers like easyJet, so it’s neither a pure hub nor a pure low-cost airport. The Gatwick Express runs non-stop to Victoria Station in around 30 minutes, and slower but cheaper Thameslink and Southern services also connect to central London, all payable by contactless card or Oyster.

Best for: a genuine mix of long-haul and budget routes, and travellers who want a fast rail option without Heathrow’s premium pricing. Distance: around 28–33 miles / 45–53km south. Fastest transfer: Gatwick Express, around 30 minutes to Victoria.

Stansted (STN): Ryanair’s UK Base

Stansted is Ryanair’s main UK base and handles overwhelmingly short-haul, budget European routes rather than long-haul or flag-carrier flights. It sits around 40–42 miles northeast of central London, and the Stansted Express runs to Liverpool Street in around 47 minutes; National Express coaches also run to central London, taking longer but usually costing less. Between the distance and the fact that budget airlines often charge extra for anything beyond hand luggage, it’s worth factoring the full cost and time of a Stansted flight against a pricier option elsewhere before assuming it’s the cheaper choice overall.

Best for: budget European flights, particularly on Ryanair, where you’re comfortable with a longer transfer in exchange for a cheaper fare. Distance: around 40–42 miles / 64–67km northeast. Fastest transfer: Stansted Express, around 47 minutes to Liverpool Street.

Luton (LTN): EasyJet’s Base, a Fiddlier Transfer

Luton, around 29–35 miles north of central London, is a major base for easyJet and other budget carriers, and its transfer into the city has one extra step most first-time visitors don’t expect: the airport has no train station of its own. Trains run from nearby Luton Airport Parkway station, reached from the terminal via the Luton DART shuttle, a fast automated link taking under 4 minutes but sold as a separate fare on top of the train ticket. From Luton Airport Parkway, Thameslink and East Midlands trains reach St Pancras in around 35–40 minutes. National Express coaches run more directly from the terminal itself, avoiding the DART transfer, at the cost of a longer overall journey.

Best for: budget flights on easyJet and similar carriers, provided you factor in the DART shuttle as part of your journey time and cost. Distance: around 29–35 miles / 47–56km north. Fastest transfer: Thameslink or East Midlands train plus Luton DART, around 40–45 minutes total to St Pancras.

London City (LCY): Small, Central, Business-Focused

London City is the outlier on this list: genuinely close to the centre, in the Docklands area of east London, roughly 6–9 miles out — a fraction of the distance of any other London airport. The DLR runs directly from the airport into the City and connects onward to the Underground and Elizabeth line, with central London reachable in around 20–30 minutes. The trade-off is scale: London City is by far the smallest of the main London airports, serves a narrower range of destinations (mostly short-haul European and select business-oriented routes), and fares are often higher than the equivalent route from a larger airport, since it doesn’t carry the same volume of budget competition.

Best for: business travellers, short trips where transfer time matters more than fare, and anyone flying a route London City actually serves. Distance: around 6–9 miles / 10–14km east. Fastest transfer: DLR, around 20–30 minutes into central London.

Southend (SEN): London’s Airport in Name Only

Southend is the smallest and quietest of the six, situated in Essex around 40 miles east of central London — genuinely the furthest and least convenient option for a visit to the city itself, despite carrying the London name. Trains run to Liverpool Street in around 50–60 minutes. It’s served by a small number of budget carriers on a limited route network, and unless the fare saving over Stansted, Luton or another airport is substantial, the extra distance and thinner onward transport options make it hard to recommend for a first-time visitor without a specific reason to use it.

Best for: genuinely significant fare savings only, or travellers already based in Essex. Distance: around 40 miles / 64km east. Fastest transfer: train to Liverpool Street, around 50–60 minutes.

If You’re Choosing Between Two Flights

Weigh the airport as part of the total cost of the trip, not just the ticket price. A budget fare into Stansted or Luton that’s £40 cheaper than a Heathrow or Gatwick flight can easily cost that difference back in train and shuttle fares for two people, on top of the extra hour or more spent travelling each way — time that matters more on a short city break than on a longer trip. If you’re only in London for two or three days, that lost time is a bigger cost than it looks on paper. For a longer stay, or if you’re travelling onward from London by car, the calculation shifts and the further-out airports become more reasonable.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many airports does London have?

Six: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend. Together they form the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers, though Heathrow alone handles more passengers than the next two combined.

Which London airport is closest to the city centre?

London City Airport, around 6–9 miles east in Docklands, is by far the closest, with a direct DLR connection into central London in 20–30 minutes. Heathrow is the next closest of the major airports, at around 14–16 miles.

Which London airport should I fly into for a first visit?

Heathrow or Gatwick are the safest defaults for a first trip, since both have fast, direct rail links into central London and serve a broad mix of airlines. Choose Stansted or Luton only if the fare saving is significant enough to justify a longer, fiddlier transfer.

Is it worth flying into a cheaper, further-out airport to save money?

It depends on the size of the saving and the length of your trip. For a short city break, the extra hour or more of travel time each way, plus additional train or coach fares, often outweighs a modest saving on the flight itself. For longer stays, or larger fare differences, a further-out airport can genuinely be worth it.

Does Oyster or contactless work at every London airport’s train service?

Mostly, but not universally. Contactless and Oyster work on Heathrow’s Piccadilly and Elizabeth line services and on Gatwick’s Thameslink and Southern trains, but premium services like the Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express, and Luton’s rail-plus-DART journey, have their own separate fare structures — check before you travel rather than assuming your Tube card covers it.

Once you’ve landed, see our guide to every way to get from Heathrow to central London for a full breakdown of routes and costs, or our guide to choosing an area to stay to help decide where you’re actually heading once you land. Browse the full Plan Your Trip collection for more, or see our England guide for the wider country beyond London.