Connecting between London airports — the full guide

The basics

If your trip requires connecting between two London airports — flying into one and out of another — you have three options:

1. Private car — direct, timed to your flights, door-to-terminal
2. National Express coach — cheap, but slow and infrequent
3. Train via Central London — usually 2+ changes, requires schlepping luggage on the Tube

For anyone with luggage, time pressure, or a group of 2+, a private car is the only sensible choice.

The five London airports

Quick orientation if you're not familiar:

• Heathrow (LHR) — West London, M4 corridor
• Gatwick (LGW) — South of London, M23
• Stansted (STN) — Northeast Essex, M11
• Luton (LTN) — North of London, M1
• London City (LCY) — East London Docklands

The M25 orbital motorway loops around London and connects most of these — although Stansted is reached via the M11 (which intersects the M25 near Brentwood) and Luton via the M1 (intersecting the M25 near Watford).

The transfer matrix

How much connection time do you need?

Allow these minimums between landing at the inbound airport and your outbound flight departing:

• 4 hours — for shorter routes (LHR↔LTN, STN↔LTN) and quiet times of day
• 5 hours — most pairings, most of the day
• 6 hours — Stansted↔Gatwick or any weekday-peak crossing of the M25

The M25 is the wildcard. A normally-90-minute trip becomes 2.5 hours easily during rush hour or after an incident.

Avoiding the M25 where possible

Some inter-airport pairings have alternative routes that skip the M25:

• Luton ↔ Stansted — use the A120 cross-country, 60 minutes, no motorway congestion
• Heathrow ↔ Luton — northbound M25 is usually OK; we use A1(M) as a backup
• Stansted ↔ London City — A406 North Circular avoids the M25 entirely

For everything else, the M25 is unavoidable but our drivers monitor it in real time and adjust.

What if your inbound flight is delayed?

We track your inbound flight via live ATC data from the moment it takes off from origin. If it's significantly delayed, we'll:

1. SMS you with the updated pickup time
2. Hold your driver — no cost to you for the wait
3. Flag if you're at risk of missing the outbound

If you're going to miss the outbound, you'll know early — giving you time to rebook with the airline rather than being trapped in a car you've paid for.

Frequently asked questions