Once you get to an airport, everything is expensive, from overpriced meal deals to jacked-up travel essentials. But just getting to the airport can be pretty spenny too: whether it’s by train, bus or cab, often fares are high no matter how far you plan in advance.
But which airport is the most expensive to get to in the UK? To find out, credit card provider thimbl. compared the cheapest ways to get to 12 of the busiest airports in the UK and calculated the cost of every mile travelled.
According to the study, the most expensive airport to get to is actually a tie. Both Bristol Airport and Glasgow Airport apparently cost about £1.05 per mile to get to.
In Bristol, to get to the airport, it costs £9 on the Airport Flyer bus, which covers 8.6 miles and is a 35-minute ride. In Glasgow, meanwhile, the cheapest option is a £10 bus ride on the Airport Express, though the journey is slightly longer at 9.5 miles.
On the flip side, the cheapest airport to reach is apparently Birmingham Airport. Travellers can take the X1 or X2 buses costing just £2 for a 13.4 mile journey to the air hub. Also costing just £2 were the 43 bus to Manchester Airport and the X77, X78 and X79 buses to Newcastle Airport.
Here is the full list of airports and the cheapest ways to reach them, ranked by the thimbl according to cost per mile.
- Birmingham – Buses X1 or X2 (£2)
- Manchester – Bus 43 (£2)
- Newcastle – Buses X77, X78, X79 (£2)
- London Luton – Train from London St Pancras (£10)
- London Heathrow – Train from King’s Cross (£5.50)
- Liverpool – Bus 500 (£2)
- Belfast International – Airport Express (£8.50)
- London Gatwick – Gatwick Express from London Victoria (£19.50)
- Edinburgh – Airlink 100 (£5.50)
- London Stansted – Train from Liverpool Street (£21.90)
- Bristol – Airport Flyer (£9)
- Glasgow – Airport Express (£10)
Taking off at Time Out
Airports are gateways to our holidays and, some might say, a necessary evil. But some are less evil than others – and we know all about that at Time Out. From the latest airport staff strikes to the busiest airport terminals in the UK best to avoid, we’re in-the-know about all the ins and outs of airports across the country.
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