Does London have 2 airports?

London has six major airports: London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted and London Southend. Find all the information you need about London's airport facilities, locations and connections, including a London airports map.



No, London is actually served by six major international airports, making it one of the most well-connected aviation hubs in the world. The primary and most famous is Heathrow (LHR), a massive global hub located to the west of the city. Gatwick (LGW), located to the south, is the second busiest and handles a mix of low-cost and long-haul flights. Stansted (STN) and Luton (LTN), situated to the north and northeast, are major bases for budget carriers like Ryanair and easyJet. London City (LCY) is the most central airport, located in the Docklands, and is primarily used for short-haul business travel due to its proximity to the financial district. Finally, Southend (SEN), though further away in Essex, is also officially considered a London airport. While a traveler might only be familiar with the "big two" (Heathrow and Gatwick), the London airport system is a complex network of six distinct facilities, each serving different geographic regions and airline types.

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'London's largest airport, Heathrow, is hemmed in by the suburbs and limited to just two runways,' he explains. 'Because it can't expand, the demand for air travel is met by smaller, single-runway airports around the South-East: Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Southend.

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It is not as if the city of London planned where to put each airport. They were there when the need for additional capacity appeared; in some cases the airports initially served local municipalities and cargo airlines, later to be used by charter and other airlines when the airports closer to London were full.

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For convenience and timings, I'd say Gatwick even though they are both on the same train line which goes through the centre of London (50 minutes to St. Pancras). Luton is more of a low-cost, no frills hub and is much smaller than Gatwick. I would go with Luton but see which airport has the cheapest fares.

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Costs slightly more, to any central London rail terminal: Gatwick is £8.10 versus £3.10 from Heathrow (quoted fare is off peak using oyster or contactless).

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The name Gatwick is said to derive from old English meaning (essentially) “Goat Farm”. The London & Brighton Railway opened on 12th July 1841 and ran close to the Gatwick Manor house. The Jordan family sold the land to the newly established Gatwick Race Course Company in 1890.

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Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remains the busiest airport in the world with 5.2 million seats in September 2023. The composition of the Global Top 10 Busiest Airports is also the same as last month but there are a few changes to the rankings.

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Southend Airport Southend Airport is the smallest airport in the London city with regard to the passenger numbers but still recorded 1.4 million people in 2018. This number or record is definitely big but the fact is that other international airports have a greater number of passengers travelling through.

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Heathrow has argued it needs higher fees to provide a good service, pay its shareholders returns and fund investment such as new security scanners which mean liquids can stay in bags and a modern baggage system for one of its terminals.

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London City Airport (LCY) London City is the least busy of London's airports. It primarily serves business travellers as the airport operates only short-haul flights throughout the UK and Europe and is within close proximity to Canary Wharf.

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Despite being a bit farther from the city centre than Heathrow, Gatwick offers efficient and well-connected transportation options, making it a popular choice for both short-haul European flights and travellers heading to south coast destinations.

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London Stansted Airport (STN) is an international airport just outside Bishop's Stortford in Essex and 30 miles northeast of central London. The airport's name is taken from the nearby village of Stansted Mountfitchet.

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