Today I’m pleased to offer a guest post, written by my European pal, Geoff Collins. Geoff is currently traveling in Spain, so I’m going to be expecting a future post about his travels there.
Here’s what Geoff has to say about his preffered airport in London:
I was re-united with an old friend recently. The friend had had a bit of a facelift, as well as some structural work done. Result: an even better way of getting into central London. Let me introduce to you my friend, London City Airport.
If you’ve ever flown to England, chances are that you have visited Heathrow, London’s main airport. When I was a child, it was known simply as London Airport, and was the busiest airport on the planet. Nowadays it’s one of the most miserable places in the world, and I will avoid it given any other option.
There are other airports in London: Gatwick, Luton and Stansted, but they are all at least 20 miles from the city center. That’s understandable really.
London’s been big since it was rebuilt after the great fire in 1666, and airports didn’t rate too highly on the priorities of 17th century town planners. But in the 19th century, London expanded eastwards towards the sea, and several large dock areas were built along the sides of the Thames. It was an industrial area with large mills and docks, giving employment to millions.
With the advent of railways and roads, the docks gradually fell into disrepair. In the 1980s, though, various projects started giving the area new life. Canary Wharf saw the creation of a whole new financial area, and many new residential areas were built along the waterside.
About this time someone had the bright idea of building an airport on a small strip of land between two docks. Not big enough for a 747, but adequate for small modern jets like the Avro Jumbolino, or the Bae 146. Both planes can carry in excess of 100 passengers and are economical to run.
The airport opened around twenty years ago, but there was still a painful road trip to get to the City, either by taxi or bus. But now that’s changed.
The Dockland Light Railway (DLR) has finally been extended to include the airport. Which means that within 10 minutes of a plane landing, you can be on a train headed towards central London. 30 minutes after landing and you’re in the City. 40 minutes and you’re at Piccadilly Circus. All for £3 ($5).
So, on your next trip to Europe, consider the alternatives. Could you do part of the business in Paris (and pick up something gorgeous for your partner in the shops) and then fly to London City rather than Heathrow?
Or if you already live in Europe, look at airlines that fly to LCY and avoid the misery that is Heathrow.
You know it makes sense
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