Choosing the best airport in London depends on various factors, such as flight availability, airline preferences, and transportation options. If convenience and proximity to downtown London are your priorities, Heathrow might be the better choice due to its extensive global connectivity and luxurious lounges.Heathrow is larger and has better links in and out of the airport to Central London. Heathrow has five terminals and four runways. Gatwick has more gates and more US carriers use Gatwick. If you are traveling by car, it takes about twice as long to get from Gatwick to center London than from Heathrow.London-Heathrow is one of the busiest and most well-connected airports in the world, easily making it the main London airport. As of July 2023, a whopping 81 airlines operate flights from London-Heathrow to 218 destinations across 86 countries.

How busy is Gatwick Airport compared to Heathrow : 2021 / 2022 data

Rank 2022	Airport	Total passengers
2022
1	London Heathrow	61,611,838
2	London Gatwick	32,835,381
3	Manchester	23,364,471

Which London airport is easiest to get to

London City Airport (LCY)

London City Airport is located closest to the city and since it is connected to the Underground network, it gets you there fastest too. Situated near the city center and Canary Wharf, the financial heart of London, City Airport is popular for business trips.

Is Gatwick Airport inconvenient : London's Gatwick Airport has ranked as the worst airport in Europe to travel through, according to a new study. The research judged the airports based on factors such as shopping options, food and drink, as well as facilities such as lounges.

London City Airport (LCY)

London City Airport is located closest to the city and since it is connected to the Underground network, it gets you there fastest too. Situated near the city center and Canary Wharf, the financial heart of London, City Airport is popular for business trips.

Gatwick's security tends to be swifter than Heathrow's and immigration lines tend to move fast thanks to automatic gates. Its restaurants have also improved markedly in recent years. However, the overabundance of shops, much like Heathrow, means spaces to sit and relax before take-off are at a premium.

Which airport is easier to get into London

London City Airport (LCY)

London City Airport is located closest to the city and since it is connected to the Underground network, it gets you there fastest too. Situated near the city center and Canary Wharf, the financial heart of London, City Airport is popular for business trips.Europe's Busiest Airports Listed

• London Heathrow: 4,269,535 seats.
• Istanbul Airport: 3,760,652 seats.
• Paris Charles de Gaulle: 3,289,040 seats.
• Amsterdam: 3,200,607 seats.
• Frankfurt International: 3,188,937 seats.
• Madrid Adolfo Suarez-Barajas: 3,082,502 seats.
• Barcelona: 2,456,272 seats.
• Rome Fiumicino: 2,216,146 seats.

London Gatwick Airport (LGW)

Gatwick generally sees smaller crowds than Heathrow and it's known for its swift security and immigration lines due to automatic gates. There are a range of facilities available, with extensive food options and an abundance of stores for shopping. One downside: seating areas are limited.

This statistic displays how long passengers had to wait in a queue for security screening at Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019. In the airport, 58 percent of respondents had to wait between one to five minutes, while 21 percent had to wait for six to ten minutes.

Is Gatwick usually busy : Over the past 60 years​,​ our airport has grown from just 186,000 passengers to over 40 million passengers. We're the busiest single runway airport in Europe.

Is Heathrow stressful : Heathrow Airport has won the unenviable acclaim of being named as the most stressful airport in Europe after researchers examined more than 10,000 online reviews from passengers, 2,500 tweets and hours of flight data to come up with their conclusion.

What are the 3 busiest airports

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (93.7 million) Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport (73.4 million) Denver International Airport (69.3 million)

Here are the 2023 rankings (rankings from 2022 in parentheses):

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (1)
• Dubai International Airport (5)
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (2)
• London Heathrow (8)
• Tokyo Haneda International Airport (16)
• Denver International Airport (3)
• Istanbul Airport (7)

London City Airport (LCY)

London City Airport is located closest to the city and since it is connected to the Underground network, it gets you there fastest too. Situated near the city center and Canary Wharf, the financial heart of London, City Airport is popular for business trips.

Is 2 hours enough at Gatwick Airport : The following times serve as a general guide and generally we recommend you arrive at least two hours before your flight to allow plenty of time. We recommend that you check with your airline for specific check-in times, as these may vary.