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Which nine airports can you fly to from the UK but not from London?

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I occasionally see a bit of analysis online and kick myself for not thinking of it first, because it is quirky / interesting / unique.

Here’s a great example, from James Pearson on LinkedIn, who writes for Simple Flying.

There are nine airports you can fly to from the UK, but not from any of the London airports. Which are they?

According to Cirium data, in the first nine months of 2023 there were flights from London airports to over 390 destinations.

For nine airports, though, you will need to leave the cosy confines of London behind and head north. (Or, of course, fly from London and change somewhere.)

Here are the nine airports – note that many of these routes are seasonal:

  • Brussels Charleroi – British Airways can get you to Brussels International, but if you need to go to Charleroi you can fly there from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester.
  • Donegal – the only UK flight is on Loganair from Glasgow
  • Esbjerg, Denmark – if you want to fly there directly, you’ll need to head to Aberdeen or Newcastle. Again, Loganair is the carrier.
  • Ohrid, North Macedonia – you’ll be taking Tui from Manchester if you want a direct flight
  • Paris Beauvais – you can get here from Belfast International, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford and Manchester, but nowhere further south
  • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – again, Tui from Manchester is the only way to fly this route direct
  • Reggio di Calabria, Italy – Ryanair will start flying this route from Manchester this year
  • Varadero, Cuba – again, Tui from Manchester is your friend here
  • Weeze, Germany – Ryanair can get you here from Edinburgh

Some of these cities have been served from London in the past, mainly on Ryanair and Tui, but apparently there have never been flights from the London area to Weeze or Reggio di Calabria.

Thanks again to James Pearson for doing the legwork here.

Category

General

Comments (76)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Gus says:
    17 Feb17 February 05:31

    There most certainly have been flights from Stansted to Weeze (NRN) in the past.
    Not sure when Ryanair gave up that particular route, but it must have been after I gave up on Ryanair.

  • Jonty says:
    17 Feb17 February 06:11

    Its a bit different but you can also fly to the Falkland Islands from Brize Norton (No points options AFAIK) booking contacts at https://www.falklands.gov.fk/londonoffice/contact-us

    • Ruralite says:
      17 Feb17 February 13:28

      That will be a RAF indulgence flight. No comeback for cancellation or being offloaded at short notice if military circumstances dictate but when they go smoothly are great if you fancy an 18 hour flight on a military aircraft. Imagine service personnel & family will be given priority over civilians – that’s how it worked in the past anyway.

  • Ian says:
    17 Feb17 February 06:16

    I assume that you mean international international international airports as there are a few UK destinations that you cannot fly from London.

    Wondering if London is including Southend and Stansted. Personally I don’t think it should, and if it didn’t does that open more routes?

    Surprised that Newquay or Exeter doesn’t fly to some secondary airfields as well.

    If just international, it wouldn’t surprise me if the list missing a few.

    • lumma says:
      17 Feb17 February 06:28

      Why wouldn’t London include Stansted and Southend? They’re both under the LON airport code and have “London” in their names and are much closer to London than some other airports around the world. Tokyo Narita is further away from Tokyo than Southend is from central London

      • Ian says:
        17 Feb17 February 06:56

        They are hardly London though are they?

        We are a small country compared to many others.

        Ships apparently dock at London (Southampton) on cruises – but along with airports I would say that this is a marketing exercise by the government / local authorities rather than any practical reason.

        I guess it is the same globally where flights to minor airports are nowhere near to the city they pretend to be.

        If I fly to London, I want to fly to London not some town miles away.

        I guess I am old school and flew from these airports when they had nothing to do with the capital. They were regional airports then avoiding the need to go into London.

        • aseftel says:
          17 Feb17 February 07:09

          If you’re chucking out Stansted on that basis then you really ought to be treating Gatwick and Luton similarly. They too are 25 miles from Charing Cross and we’ll outside the M25.

          • memesweeper says:
            17 Feb17 February 07:20

            If you really want to nit-pick only London City is in fully inside Greater London? I think most people think flying from Stansted is flying from London.

          • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
            17 Feb17 February 09:10

            @ sweeper of memes to nit-pick your nit-pick Heathrow is also within the Greater London boundary being entirely within the London Borough of Hillingdon

      • BBbetter says:
        17 Feb17 February 09:16

        How long does it take to reach the city centre from Narita? Isn’t that a better way to compare?

        • lumma says:
          17 Feb17 February 10:49

          Narita Express takes about 1 hour from Tokyo station, the cheap stoppers take a lot longer

          Stansted express is usually about 47 minutes. Southend airport to Liverpool Street is around 54 minutes

    • Miles Rothschild-De Vere says:
      17 Feb17 February 07:18

      EasyJet originally operated regular flights to and from from London Stansted to Weeze , Germany

  • aseftel says:
    17 Feb17 February 06:36

    I think Alderney is only scheduled from Southampton, not any of the London airports.

  • TimM says:
    17 Feb17 February 06:47

    An eclectic collection of destinations!

  • Elle says:
    17 Feb17 February 06:49

    Torshavn in the Faroe Islands missing – direct flight (weekly) from Edinburgh on Atlantic. Yes, I have my summer holiday booked 🙂

    • ToffeeTom says:
      17 Feb17 February 07:39

      Atlantic is starting seasonal flights from Gatwick.

      Off topic, but I’d be keen to hear your itinerary for your trip to the Faroes.

      • Elle says:
        17 Feb17 February 07:49

        Agh – oh well, can get some TPs wandering up to Scotland

      • Kev says:
        17 Feb17 February 07:55

        Admittedly I flew to Vagar but be sure to plan your driver and tours in advance as supply is limited especially in the travel peak. I was there last summer and it rained much of the time but got to see some wonderful wildlife including the puffins.

        • John says:
          17 Feb17 February 08:13

          Why did you have a driver? It’s the easiest place to drive in the world

          • Alex Sm says:
            17 Feb17 February 08:15

            Probably because they drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road?

          • Kev says:
            17 Feb17 February 09:57

            Well yes it is quiet but some of the roads are hair raising – and you can enjoy the scenery if someone else is driving and telling you the history and facts about where you are as on any guided tour

      • Alex Sm says:
        17 Feb17 February 08:24

        We used public transport – buses, boats and helicopters – which was great. Staying in Torshavn, exploring it and visiting Eiði, Tjørnuvik, Mykines (island with puffins), Nølsoy (just an island) 🇫🇴

    • Alex Sm says:
      17 Feb17 February 08:14

      Is it still going? My partner and I went to Faroes in 2019 on Flybe LHR-EDI and onwards on Atlantic, the plane was less than a month old! Then they wanted to open a direct flight from Gatwick but because of c*vid these plans went down in flames… 🇫🇴

  • Alastair France says:
    17 Feb17 February 07:45

    Weeze used to be flown from Stansted by Ryanair – maybe 20 years ago. I flew it a couple of times. Don’t know what it is like now but the terminal then was tiny and constructed of unpainted chipboard it seemed. There was a bus from the airport which could take you to a station from which there were occasional trains to Düsseldorf.

  • Nige says:
    17 Feb17 February 07:51

    TUI have already scrapped flights to Cuba, and the Puerto Vallarta route is also ending this summer.

    • Stuart says:
      17 Feb17 February 08:09

      I think the fact that you aren’t getting into the US after going to Cuba might be a factor here.

      • Nick says:
        17 Feb17 February 10:38

        Plenty of people go to the US after Cuba. Lots even fly back that way to the UK straight from their trip. What you mean is people only using ESTAs can’t currently do it without added bureaucracy.

        • lumma says:
          17 Feb17 February 10:52

          It’s a lot of extra bureaucracy if you’re going to Cuba to sit in an all inclusive for two weeks, when there’s other places in the Caribbean you could go to without this.

          • Alice says:
            17 Feb17 February 12:36

            But those of us already unable to get an ESTA due to having visited other interesting places might as well go to Cuba. There’s plenty more interesting places than the USA to visit

          • Chrisasaurus says:
            18 Feb18 February 00:09

            Or far closer still to be fair

        • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
          17 Feb17 February 13:30

          That “added bureaucracy ” isn’t just filling an extra form though.

          It’s applying for a visa and attending an interview at the US Embassy / consulate as well as paying a considerable amount of money,

      • Londonsteve says:
        17 Feb17 February 14:07

        It won’t be solely down to being unable to use an ESTA after visiting Cuba. The island is experiencing a near economic meltdown with enormous numbers emigrating daily. Even in a western managed all-inclusive hotel in Varadero there are shortages of beer, butter, fish, chicken or whatever happens to be unavailable that day. And bear in mind these hotels have privileged access to supplies so imagine what life is like for the general populace. They need the tourists and their hard currency but it’s a mess right now so many are staying away.

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