How early should you leave for a London airport?

It is the question we are asked most often, and the honest answer is: later than you fear, earlier than you would like. The trick is to work backwards from the flight rather than forwards from the moment you wake up.

Start with the airline

Your airline sets two times that matter: when check-in or bag drop closes, and when the gate closes. They are on your booking or in the airline's app, and they differ between airlines and between short and long flights. Many airlines suggest arriving around two hours before a flight within Europe and three hours before a long-haul flight. If yours says something different, go with what it says.

Then add the airport

Each London airport has its own rhythm. Heathrow and Gatwick are big and busy, and the walk from the drop-off to the desks can take a while with a trolley. Stansted and Luton get very busy with early-morning flights. London City is small, which is why people flying from it often allow less time. Southend is quieter still. Whatever the airport, security queues are longest first thing in the morning and in the school holidays.

Then add the drive

This is the part we look after. The time it takes depends on where you are starting, the day of the week and the hour. A drive to Heathrow at five in the morning is a very different journey from the same drive at five in the evening. When you ask us for a price, give us your flight time as well as the address, and we will suggest a pick-up time with you.

A worked example

Say you are flying from Gatwick at 10:30 to somewhere in Europe. Aim to be at the terminal around 08:30. Add the drive from your door for a weekday morning, and a little spare for loading the car and the odd hold-up on the way. That gives you your pick-up time, and you work everything else, alarm included, back from there.

Leave room for the unexpected

Roadworks, an accident on the motorway or a slow queue at security can each add time you did not plan for. A little spare costs you a coffee at the airport. Too little can cost you the flight. When in doubt, leave a bit earlier.

If you are not sure which terminal you need, have a look at our airports page before you book.