Turn up and fly – I wish all airports could be like this

The airport

London City Airport (LCY), United Kingdom.

The flight

British Airways BA2335 to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport, Sardinia, Italy.

The arrival

I’m staying nearby in Docklands, so it’s four stops aboard a London red bus to the terminal door for just £1.75 ($3.37). City Airport is also served by the Docklands Light Railway, which intersects with multiple Tube stations for connections across London. No ticket or Oyster card necessary: just tap your credit card at the gate.

The look

While London Heathrow flaunts high ceilings, expansive floor plans and multiple terminals, City Airport feels more like a railway station. You walk straight into a cosy check-in hall, and from there, the departure gates aren’t far. The entire airport is designed to whisk you from kerb to gate in 20 minutes or less. It’s brilliant.

Check-in

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s sleeping in. With a morning flight ahead of me, I’m relieved to find that British Airways offers baggage check-in the night before you fly. I duck out on that final afternoon, ditch my suitcase and grab my boarding pass. It serves me well because on travel day, I’m still in bed an hour before boarding – and I am not staying at an airport hotel. Miraculously, I still get 25 minutes to enjoy a coffee after moving through security.

Security

“Wow, it’s busy today,” a staff member quips when they see the queue, which takes all of three minutes to clear. If that’s a hectic day, Heathrow, we need to have words. At City, all lanes have the latest CT baggage scanners, which means everything stays inside. Drop your bag and walk on through. Fast track? Don’t even bother.

Food + drink

Need a bite when dropping your bag? Pret A Manger in the check-in lobby is just for you. There’s another after security as well as various other outlets that serve coffee and breakfast, including brewery brand Big Penny. I spend £7.78 ($15) on a latte and almond croissant at the most Melbourne-esque coffee place, Soul & Grain. It’s the best coffee I’ve had in London on this trip. There’s also Hithes and Juniper & Co for a sit-down meal, but who’s arriving early enough for that? It’s City Airport: sleep in and scurry off.

Retail therapy

This isn’t an airport with a cumbersome duty-free maze that’s impossible to avoid. It’s there if you want it, but easy to ignore if not. For last-minute essentials, pop by WHSmith (before and after security), Boots (after security), or if you’re hunting for a new pair of headphones or a spare phone charger, InMotion has a small tech range (after security).

Passing time

What time? Don’t dare arrive three hours early “just in case” because you’d be wasting your day. This airport is so efficient that it’s gone 40 years without offering a single lounge, even for British Airways, in a prime city like London. Regular travellers know to turn up and fly: that’s City Airport’s entire appeal over Heathrow and Gatwick. Some travellers may change their habits in 2027 with the opening of a pay-to-enter Aspire Lounge.

The verdict

Could all airports please be like this? Arriving hours before an international flight is such a waste of time, but a necessity at many other major airports. Here, you’d get funny looks for merely entertaining the thought. It’s particularly unnecessary to show up early if you check bags the night before. Here, an unplanned sleep-in is no problem at all, just make it in time for boarding. Sadly, City Airport’s runway is too short for large aircraft and long-haul flights, so Heathrow and Gatwick, I suppose we can still be friends.

Our rating out of five

★★★★★

The writer travelled at his own expense.