Heathrow. Located 14 miles west of central London, Heathrow (LHR) is the busiest airport in the U.K., and one of the world's most famous aviation hubs. This is where you are likely to land if you're arriving on a long-haul flight into London on a full-service airline.
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.
Luton is smaller and less walking to get to the gates.Stansted is easiest to get to London with direct trains and 2 coach routes. Luton requires a shuttle bus to get to the rail station. I wouldn't be too bothered which I chose and would go with ease of flight rather than travel to/from the airport.
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.
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. There are Gatwick trains (run by First Capital Connect) that take you to St Pancras as well - you don't have to go to Victoria.
Gatwick can be quicker to get to from London compared with Stansted. Where are you staying, one block off Holborn can mean anywhere in a large area. Gatwick is a much larger airport and maybe is more expensive to get to and further away. Security isn't really any different at either airport.
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.
The nearest airport to London is London City (LCY) Airport which is 7.7 miles away. Other nearby airports include London Heathrow (LHR) (14.4 miles), London Gatwick (LGW) (24.5 miles), London Luton (LTN) (28 miles) and London Stansted (STN) (31.4 miles). How long does it take to get to London from the Airport?
Are you looking for a fast and easy connection to the city? Then, Heathrow and London City are the best options, especially if you're flying from the US.
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.
'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.
Heathrow is London's (and the country's) main and busiest airport. Gatwick follows as the secondary and second busiest airport. Heathrow is larger and has better links in and out of the airport to Central London. Heathrow has five terminals and four runways.
Luton (LTN)Like Gatwick and Stansted, London's fourth airport, at Luton, is nearly 30 miles from the city center. Yet despite being the same distance from town, it's the quickest of the three to reach by train (not including the shuttle bus to the terminal).
It is the only major London airport with significant runway capacity and offers a European route network which is unrivalled in the UK, providing London with more visitors from Europe than any other airport.
London Stansted and London Luton are the fourth and fifth busiest airports, respectively. The largest airport operator in the United Kingdom is Heathrow Airport Holdings (owner of Heathrow), followed by Manchester Airports Group (owner of Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands).
There's very little in it; both have good rail links. You have to get on a shuttle bus to the train station from Luton whereas Gatwick station is at the airport so that might give Gatwick a slight edge. But I'd choose the airport with the more convenient/cheaper flights. London has five airports.
Generally, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best weekdays to fly. Thursday is a bit more expensive but still reasonable. Saturday is usually the cheapest weekend day to fly.