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LondontoHeathrow airport

City to airport · One way · All prices are totals for 1 adult · All service hours

4 ways to the airport

Heathrow recommends arriving three hours before an international flight and two hours before a domestic or European one. It publishes no separate bag-drop or check-in closing time. First departures

Recommended

The cheapest way to the airport. The Heathrow Express is 35 minutes quicker for £20.10 more, which is not worth it at this party size.

Piccadilly line

Piccadilly · Transport for London
50 min rideEvery 10 min05:48–00:33
Any Piccadilly line station in Zone 1Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5
Non-stopLuggage space
£5.90total for 1 adult£5.90 eachBuy ticketOn Transport for London
Pickup, hours & luggage

Boards at. Any Piccadilly line station in Zone 1, including Piccadilly Circus and Green Park

The same £5.90 on Oyster or a contactless card, from any Heathrow terminal, to any Zone 1 station, at any hour — TfL offers no off-peak fare on this journey at all. A paper single is £7.00. It counts towards the daily cap, which the Express does not.

Luggage. No stated limit, but it is a tube train and the Piccadilly line has no racks.

Hours. Timed from Green Park, for Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5 (23:40 last on Sundays). Terminal 4 starts later, at 05:54 (07:00 Sundays), and stops earlier, at 23:18 (22:42 Sundays) — and has no Friday or Saturday Night Tube at all.

Price for every party size · Fare source

Regional

Elizabeth line

Elizabeth · Transport for London
40–45 min rideEvery 10 min04:40–23:09
PaddingtonTerminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5
Luggage space
£14.60total for 1 adult£14.60 eachBuy ticketOn Transport for London
Pickup, hours & luggage

Boards at. Paddington, on the Elizabeth line platforms

£14.60 to Paddington, £15.50 further into Zone 1 — Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street. Oyster and contactless cost the same; there is no paper single. It counts towards the daily cap, so a same-day return costs the cap, not two singles.

Luggage. Racks at the ends of the carriages; the trains are built for it.

Hours. Terminal 4's own times: first at 04:40 (04:43 Saturdays, 05:27 Sundays), last at 23:24 with Terminals 2 & 3. Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5 also run an earlier train, first at 04:36 (05:12 Sundays); Terminal 5 stops earliest, at 23:09 (22:48 Sundays).

Price for every party size · Fare source

Train

Heathrow Express

Heathrow Express · Heathrow Express
15–21 min rideEvery 15 min04:34–23:25
London PaddingtonHeathrow Central (Terminals 2 & 3)
Luggage space
£26total for 1 adult£26 eachBuy ticket2 places to buy
Pickup, hours & luggage

Boards at. London Paddington, platforms 6 and 7 (occasionally different — check the boards)

The walk-up standard single is £26.00, confirmed by both the operator and TfL. Children 15 and under travel free in Standard Class with a paying adult. An advance fare from £10.00 exists but must be booked at least 30 days ahead and is non-refundable and non-amendable.

Luggage. Racks throughout; it is built as an airport train.

Hours. Every 15 minutes. On Sundays the first is 04:55 and the last 23:26.

Price for every party size · Fare source

Night only

N9 night bus

N9 · Transport for London
79–89 min rideEvery 30 min01:29–06:30
Aldwych / Bush HouseTerminal 5 and Heathrow Central Bus Station
Luggage space
£1.75total for 1 adult£1.75 eachBuy ticketOn Transport for London
Pickup, hours & luggage

Boards at. Aldwych / Bush House, on the N9 towards Heathrow

TfL's flat bus fare, the same on every London bus at every hour, with the Hopper allowing further bus journeys inside an hour at no extra cost. It is one fifteenth of the Heathrow Express fare.

Luggage. A London bus. There is a luggage rack by the door and no guarantee of space on a full one.

Hours. Every 30 minutes. On a Friday night the first is 01:37 and the last 06:28; on a Saturday night the first is 01:37 and the last 07:58.

Price for every party size · Fare source

Fares are the same ticket ridden the other way; the boarding points, hours and, where a ride differs by direction, the ride time are read for this direction. Also runs to the airport, boarding point and hours in town not recorded yet: Pre-booked private transfer, Private transfer to Oxford, Private transfer to Reading, Heathrow to Southampton port by private car. Every way from London Heathrow airport into London

How do I get from London to Heathrow airport?

For one traveler the Piccadilly line is the way we recommend: £5.90 in total, 50 min, boarding at any Piccadilly line station in Zone 1. The first one leaves at 05:48 and is at the airport by about 06:38; the last leaves at 00:33. Heathrow recommends arriving three hours before an international flight and two hours before a domestic or European one. It publishes no separate bag-drop or check-in closing time.

First departures

Earliest at the airport first
N9 night bus

First 01:29 from Aldwych / Bush House, at the airport by about 02:51.

Heathrow Express

First 04:34 from London Paddington, at the airport by about 04:49.

Elizabeth line

First 04:40 from Paddington, at the airport by about 05:20.

Piccadilly line

First 05:48 from any Piccadilly line station in Zone 1, at the airport by about 06:38.

Arrival times add the recorded ride time to the first departure; no walking or waiting is added.

Early flight?

For anything earlier than the trains, the N9 night bus from Aldwych covers 01:29 to 06:30 (a little later on Friday and Saturday nights). The first Piccadilly line is 05:48 from Green Park, the first Elizabeth line 04:40 from Paddington, and the first Heathrow Express 04:34 from Paddington.

Before you leave for London Heathrow Airport

From the centre to each way out
How early to be there

Heathrow recommends arriving three hours before an international flight and two hours before a domestic or European one. It publishes no separate bag-drop or check-in closing time.

Early flights

For anything earlier than the trains, the N9 night bus from Aldwych covers 01:29 to 06:30 (a little later on Friday and Saturday nights). The first Piccadilly line is 05:48 from Green Park, the first Elizabeth line 04:40 from Paddington, and the first Heathrow Express 04:34 from Paddington.

At the station

At Paddington the Heathrow Express normally uses platforms 6 and 7, though they occasionally change — check the departure boards. The Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines board from their own Underground and National Rail platforms at any Zone 1 station.

Where the bus leaves from

The Airline coach to Terminal 5 or the Central Bus Station leaves Gloucester Green bus station in Oxford; RailAir's RA1 leaves the stop outside Reading railway station. Both are non-stop from the city end to those first stops.

Tickets

Tap a contactless card or phone at the yellow readers for the Piccadilly or Elizabeth line, the same as arriving — no ticket to buy, and the fare still caps across the day. Heathrow Express, the Airline and RailAir are bought online or at a machine before boarding.

Which terminal

Check which terminal your flight uses before you set off: Terminal 4 has no Heathrow Express and no Night Tube, and starts later and stops earlier than Terminals 2, 3 and 5 on both the Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines.

Questions

When is the first Piccadilly line from any Piccadilly line station in Zone 1?

05:48. It reaches the airport at about 06:38.

How early should I be at London Heathrow airport?

Heathrow recommends arriving three hours before an international flight and two hours before a domestic or European one. It publishes no separate bag-drop or check-in closing time.

Where does the N9 night bus leave from in London?

Aldwych / Bush House, on the N9 towards Heathrow. First departure 01:29, last 06:30.

My flight is early. What runs before the first train?

For anything earlier than the trains, the N9 night bus from Aldwych covers 01:29 to 06:30 (a little later on Friday and Saturday nights). The first Piccadilly line is 05:48 from Green Park, the first Elizabeth line 04:40 from Paddington, and the first Heathrow Express 04:34 from Paddington.

Arriving instead? Every way from London Heathrow airport into London
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