A Complete Guide to London City Airport (LCY)

London City Airport doesn’t try to be Heathrow. It’s small on purpose. One runway, one terminal, and a location that puts you inside the Royal Docks rather than out on the edge of the city. That’s exactly why it was voted Best UK Airport in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2025, and why both The Daily Telegraph and Which? have separately called it London’s best airport. For business travellers heading to European finance capitals, or anyone who’d rather skip an hour on the Piccadilly line, LCY is often the easier choice.

This guide walks through everything you need before you fly: how to actually get there now that a drop-off charge exists, where to park, what the terminal looks like inside, who flies from LCY, where you can eat and shop, and what your options are if you’re driving yourself versus booking a transfer.

Need a lift instead of driving yourself? Book a London City Airport chauffeur transfer with National Executive Transfers, or call +44 1564 778080 to talk it through with someone directly.

What’s in this guide

• How to get to London City Airport
• Where London City Airport is located
• Parking, and the new drop-off charge
• Terminal overview
• Airlines flying from LCY
• Restaurants
• Shops
• Amenities and things to do while you wait
• Hotels near the airport
• Destinations from LCY
• The best way to get to London City Airport

How to get to London City Airport

Most people reach LCY without a car, and honestly, that’s the easier way to do it.

DLR. The Docklands Light Railway has its own station built directly into the terminal, so you step off the train and you’re already inside. It connects through to Bank, Tower Gateway and Stratford International, and you can switch onto the Jubilee line at Canning Town if that suits your route better. From Bank, the ride is around 20 minutes.

Bus. Two local routes serve the airport. The 473 runs to Stratford, Silvertown, North Woolwich and Prince Regent DLR station. The 474 covers Canning Town, North Woolwich and East Beckton via Silvertown. Cheap, but slower, and awkward if you’re carrying more than a small bag.

Cycling. There are bike racks on site, so if you live nearby and travel light, this is a genuine option, not just a token gesture.

Taxi and private hire. Black cabs and pre-booked minicabs can pull up right outside the terminal at the signed rank. Since January 2026, though, every vehicle using the forecourt pays a drop-off charge (more on that below), so factor that into the cost if you’re arranging your own taxi on the day.

Chauffeur transfer. A pre-booked chauffeur skips most of the friction above. No working out DLR connections with three suitcases, no standing at a bus stop in the rain, and the driver deals with the forecourt charge rather than you scrambling to pay it online after the fact. National Executive Transfers runs chauffeur-driven transfers to London City Airport with flight monitoring built in, so if your flight lands early or late, your driver already knows.

Where is London City Airport

London City Airport sits in the Royal Docks, in the London Borough of Newham, about 6 miles east of the City of London and 3 miles east of Canary Wharf. The full address is Hartmann Road, London E16 2PX, and the main switchboard number is +44 20 7646 0000.

It opened in 1987, built on land reclaimed from the old King George V Dock, and it was designed from day one for short, steep approaches so aircraft could operate close to the surrounding buildings without the noise problems a longer approach would cause. That’s still true today. If you’ve ever landed here and felt the plane drop in at a noticeably sharper angle than usual, that’s not your imagination.

Its location is the whole point. Being this close to the City and Canary Wharf is why LCY has always leaned business-heavy, and it’s the reason firms across the Midlands and beyond route their people through here for meetings rather than flying into Heathrow and adding an hour of transfer time.

Parking at London City Airport

Space at LCY is tight, and parking reflects that. There isn’t a sprawling long-stay lot like you’d find at Heathrow or Gatwick, so it pays to know your options before you arrive.

Pre-booked parking. Booking online ahead of your trip is consistently the cheapest way to park here. You can usually reserve a space many months in advance, and prices only get more expensive the closer you get to your travel date.

Short stay parking. This is the car park closest to the terminal, built for people dropping off, picking up, or staying only a few hours. It’s the most expensive option per hour, but the walk is short.

Long stay parking. A five to ten minute walk from the terminal, and better value if you’re leaving the car for several days rather than a few hours.

Blue Badge parking. Reserved, discounted bays close to the terminal entrance for Blue Badge holders, with step-free access.

Pick-up area. A dedicated spot for collecting arriving passengers. It’s meant for brief waits only, and charges apply if you overstay it.

The new drop-off charge. Since 6 January 2026, LCY charges every vehicle that stops in the forecourt drop-off zone: £8 for the first five minutes, then £1 for each extra minute, up to a maximum stay of ten minutes. It’s a barrierless system using number plate recognition cameras, and you pay online after your visit rather than at a machine. Blue Badge holders are exempt, and licensed black cabs currently are too, while a wider review of how taxi fares handle the charge is worked out. This was the last of London’s six airports to introduce a kerbside fee, so if you were used to a free drop-off at LCY, that’s changed now.

Given the new charge and the general squeeze on parking space, a lot of passengers are choosing to skip driving altogether and either take the DLR or book a fixed-price transfer where the driver, not the passenger, deals with the forecourt logistics.

London City Airport terminal overview

There’s just one terminal, and it’s built over two floors. Check-in and arrivals sit on the ground floor. Head upstairs and you’ll go through security into the departure lounge, which was significantly expanded during a renovation completed in 2024, taking seating up to around 950 seats and adding new places to eat.

From the lounge, corridors lead out to two piers, west and east, where the gates are. LCY runs 24 gates in total across those two piers. None of them use jet bridges. Instead you walk out onto the tarmac and climb the aircraft steps yourself, which sounds basic until you realise it’s actually one of the reasons the airport moves people through so quickly. There’s no bridge to wait for.

Security is worth a specific mention. LCY was one of the first UK airports to install CT scanners, which read laptops and other electronics without you needing to pull them out of your bag. That part genuinely speeds things up. What it doesn’t do, despite what you might have read elsewhere, is let you carry liquids over 100ml again. The UK government rolled that relaxation back in June 2024, so the old hand luggage rules on liquids still apply here even with the newer scanners.

Because the whole building is compact, plenty of passengers get from the front door to their gate in well under half an hour.

Airlines flying from London City Airport

LCY serves short and medium haul routes, mostly across Europe, and there’s currently no transatlantic service after British Airways suspended its LCY to New York JFK route. British Airways, through its BA CityFlyer operation, is by far the biggest presence, running the majority of routes out of the airport. The rest of the schedule is shared between:

• KLM, whose Amsterdam route is the busiest single connection at LCY
• Lufthansa, mainly Frankfurt and Munich
• Swiss International Air Lines, to Geneva and Zurich
• ITA Airways, covering Milan Linate, Florence and Rome
• Loganair
• Aurigny
• Luxair
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Air Dolomiti

Between them, these airlines connect LCY to somewhere around 30 destinations. For the current list, check the airline filter on LCY’s own destinations page, since airlines add and drop routes between seasons more often than you’d expect at a small airport like this.

London City Airport restaurants

The dining options at LCY changed noticeably after the 2024 lounge renovation, and there’s more choice now than a lot of older guides give it credit for.

Caffè Nero and Pret A Manger cover the quick coffee and sandwich end of things, which is what most people actually want before an early flight. Soul & Grain sits somewhere in between, with proper hot meals and salads if you’ve got a bit more time.

For a sit-down option, Juniper & Co is the one to know. It replaced the old City Bar & Grill in late 2023 and leans heavily on local British produce, including bread from Paul Rhodes Bakery and smoked salmon from Forman’s, alongside a decent wine and spirits list.

Two newer additions are worth calling out specifically because most guides still miss them. Big Penny Brews is an independent East London craft beer bar that sources a good chunk of its drinks from breweries within ten miles of the airport, so it’s a genuinely local pour rather than the usual airport lager selection. Hithes, which opened in July 2024, is a pub and brasserie hybrid that’s become one of the more popular stops in the lounge since it launched.

London City Airport shops

Shopping here is small in scale but covers what most travellers actually need.

Aelia Duty Free, past security, has the usual mix of perfume, spirits, cosmetics and British-branded gifts. Boots handles toiletries, health items and travel snacks. InMotion is the tech stop, useful if you’ve forgotten a charging cable or want a last-minute pair of headphones. WH Smith rounds it out with books, magazines, drinks and the general odds and ends you forgot to pack.

There’s also a currency exchange desk if you need cash before you land somewhere that doesn’t take cards everywhere.

Amenities and things to do while you wait

Free Wi-Fi covers the whole terminal, and the expanded departure lounge means finding a seat with a power socket is far less of a scramble than it used to be before the 2024 renovation.

If you’d rather not sit in the main lounge, AeroSpa is a genuine airport spa, which isn’t something you’ll find at most UK airports this size. It’s a nice option if you’ve got a couple of hours and want to actually relax rather than just wait.

Assisted travel support is available for passengers with reduced mobility or additional needs, from check-in right through to boarding, and it’s worth booking this in advance through the airline rather than turning up and hoping for the best. Baby changing facilities are located past security, and there are accessible toilets throughout the terminal.

Smoking and vaping are restricted to a designated area outside the terminal entrance. Once you’re through security, the whole building is smoke-free, no exceptions.

For business travellers who want a faster, quieter route through the airport, LCY offers a concierge service that helps with check-in and reduces time spent in queues generally, which suits the kind of short-notice trip a lot of finance and legal professionals make through this airport.

Hotels near London City Airport

If you’ve got an early departure or a late arrival, staying nearby removes the risk entirely.

Courtyard by Marriott London City Airport sits on Connaught Road, a short walk from both the terminal and the DLR station, with easy access to ExCeL London and Canary Wharf. It’s a solid, modern option built around business travel, with a gym and an on-site restaurant.

Sunborn London Yacht Hotel is genuinely different from anything else in the area: a permanently moored floating hotel at Royal Victoria Dock. If you want something memorable rather than purely functional, this is it, with dock views from most rooms and an onboard restaurant and bar.

Travelodge London Excel is the budget-friendly choice, close to both the airport and the ExCeL centre, and a sensible pick if you just need a clean bed before an early flight rather than an experience.

Destinations from London City Airport

LCY’s route map is smaller than Heathrow’s by design, but it covers a genuinely useful spread of European business and leisure destinations, plus a scattering of UK routes. Regular destinations include Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Milan, Florence, Rome, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Luxembourg, Rotterdam and Nice, along with seasonal ski routes to Innsbruck and Chambéry.

The 2026 summer schedule also brought a run of new leisure routes, including Toulon, Olbia, San Sebastián, Split and Bergerac, which shows LCY leaning a bit more into holiday traffic alongside its traditional business base. There’s currently no long-haul or transatlantic service from LCY, so if you’re heading further afield, you’ll be connecting through somewhere like Amsterdam or Zurich.

The best way to get to London City Airport

If you’re travelling light and know the DLR route, public transport genuinely works well here, it’s one of the reasons LCY’s own figures show most passengers already arrive that way. But if you’ve got a business case to prep on the way, a family with luggage, or a flight that lands at an awkward hour, a pre-booked chauffeur removes most of the variables.

With National Executive Transfers, the price is fixed when you book, so there’s no drop-off charge surprise, no working out parking tariffs, and no standing at a rank hoping a black cab shows up. Your driver tracks your flight, adjusts for delays without you having to call anyone, and helps with bags at both ends. Child seats can be arranged in advance if you’re travelling with a young family, and early morning or late-night pickups are handled the same as any other booking, since a fair share of LCY’s schedule is exactly that.

The same applies in reverse for longer journeys. If you’re coming from Birmingham, Coventry, Oxford or elsewhere in the Midlands, a direct city-to-city transfer to LCY often works out simpler than a train change plus a DLR leg, particularly if you’re travelling for an early meeting and can’t afford for the journey itself to go wrong.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Where is London City Airport?
A: In the Royal Docks, London Borough of Newham, at Hartmann Road, London E16 2PX. It’s about 6 miles east of the City of London and 3 miles east of Canary Wharf.

Q: Is there a drop-off charge at London City Airport?
A: Yes, since 6 January 2026. It costs £8 for the first five minutes and £1 per minute after that, up to a ten minute maximum stay. Blue Badge holders are exempt.

Q: How many gates does London City Airport have?
A: 24, split across two piers, west and east. There are no jet bridges, so boarding is done by walking out to the aircraft.

Q: Which airlines fly from London City Airport?
A: British Airways (BA CityFlyer) operates the majority of routes. KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss International, ITA Airways, Loganair, Aurigny, Luxair, LOT Polish Airlines and Air Dolomiti make up the rest.

Q: Can I still carry liquids over 100ml through security at LCY?
A: No. Despite the newer CT scanners, the UK reinstated the standard 100ml liquid limit in June 2024, so normal hand luggage rules still apply.

Q: What’s the best way to get to London City Airport without driving?
A: The DLR is the most direct option, with its own station built into the terminal. For door-to-door convenience, especially with luggage or an early flight, a pre-booked chauffeur transfer avoids public transport connections altogether.

Q: Is parking available at London City Airport?
A: Yes, though space is limited. Pre-booked, short stay, long stay and Blue Badge parking are all available, and pre-booking online is consistently cheaper than paying on arrival.