Flights from London to Glasgow

Flights from London to Glasgow

Flights from London to Glasgow leave at varying intervals throughout the day. During the traditional rush hours you can catch one every 15min or so, with flights during the day spaced from about 30min to 1h apart. All of the flights take between around 1h 15min and 1h 35min, so you’re not looking at a particularly long travel time on this route. They’re also direct flights, avoiding the need for any plane changes.

London to Glasgow flight time: Daily Departures

You’ll be able to find roughly 17 flights from London to Glasgow each weekday, and around 4-10 on weekends, spread throughout the day. This gives you just under 100 flights to choose from per week. The first flights take off at around 6:30 a.m. and the last ones leave at about 9:30 p.m. You’ll find the most density in the early mornings and late afternoons, with planes leaving every 15min or so at these times.

How long is the journey by flight from London to Glasgow?

Flights from London to Glasgow don’t take very long at all – the planes barely have time to reach cruising altitude before starting to descend for landing. On the shortest flights you’re looking at a total flying time of around 1h 15min. You won’t have to make any stopovers or aircraft changes on the way, as these are all direct flights. Others take an average of roughly 1h 25min, so you’ll always get to Glasgow in under 2h, except for when flights are delayed.

Glasgow Tourist Castle. Source: Shutterstock

What are the departure and arrival airports for flights from London to Glasgow?

Departure airport: You can fly to Glasgow out of all the airports in London, without any real differences in travel time, so the choice will likely come down to which part of London you’re coming from. You can leave from London Heathrow Airport ­– LHR (15min away on the Heathrow Express), London Gatwick Airport – LGW (30min on a Southern Express train), London Luton Airport – LTN (40min on Thameslink), Stansted Airport – STN (50min on Stansted Express), or London City Airport – LCY (20min on DLR). These are all modern international airports, with plenty of shops and places to eat and drink, and full limited mobility assistance.

Arrival airport: All the flights to Glasgow from London arrive at Glasgow International Airport – GLA. A First Scotrail train will get you to the centre of the city from here in about 16min. Alternatively you can take the Line 26 bus, which will take just under 1h. Disability amenities are excellent, including assistance for travellers with limited mobility or hidden disabilities, specifically including autism. Personal assistants are always on hand. The airport has plenty of shops, restaurants, bars and fast-food outlets, and you can pre-order food and other shopping items before you arrive.

Which airlines travel from London to Glasgow?

Most of the Glasgow flights are shared between two airlines, easyJet and British Airways, with the latter sometimes operated by BA CityFlyer. The main distinguishing feature between the two airlines is that easyJet is a budget operator offering much cheaper tickets on every flight. Given that these are also the slightly quicker flights, they’re the most popular, so keep your eyes on Omio to book your tickets as soon as they appear and have them delivered directly to your mobile device. The other difference between the flights is that they depart from different airports. British Airways takes off from Heathrow, London City and Gatwick, while easyJet operates from Luton, Stansted and Gatwick. They’re all direct flights, so you won’t be required to make any plane changes or stopovers en route.

easyJet flights from London to Glasgow

easyJet flights take between around 1h 15min and about 1h 35min to get you from London to Glasgow. They leave about eight times a day, and you can book flights out of Gatwick, Luton Airport or London City Airport. You’ll be able to catch them from early in the morning till mid-evening, and all planes fly direct. As a budget airline, easyJet also offers the cheapest air tickets to Glasgow from London, often saving up to 75% of the price of flights on BA. This applies no matter which airport you book to fly from.

British Airways flights from London to Glasgow

British Airways to Glasgow flights take from around 1h 20min to about 1h 35min, so the flying time is very similar to that of easyJet. BA airplanes leave also leave from early morning till mid-evening, and they’re the first and last flights servicing this route. BA CityFlyer operates some of them on behalf of BA, but this won’t affect your individual travel experience at all. These are also all direct flights between the cities, and they leave around nine times a day from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City Airport.

Flight London to Glasgow: Services on Board

British Airways is well-known for its world-class on-board services and facilities. You can choose to fly Economy, Premium Economy, Business class or First class. On a short flight like this Economy class will do nicely, unless you really want to spoil yourself. This is part of the airline’s Euro Traveller experience, offering complimentary refreshments, leather seats with moveable head-rests and power sockets.

Priority boarding is available for families with young children and free carriage push cars are provided. Limited mobility and hidden disability assistance is thorough and while you can’t travel with a pet or a bicycle in the cabin, you can take your bike with you in a carrier as hold luggage, and make arrangements for animal travel, either on the same flight or a separate one. You can typically take one hold luggage item limited to 50 lbs (23 kg) and a carry-on item weighing up to 18 lbs (8 kg).

easyJet only has a single class, as it’s a budget airline, which is its major drawcard on this route. You can arrange for the airline’s Special Assistance in advance and on-board facilities include snacks and sweets, sandwiches, hot and cold drinks, and alcohol available for purchase. You can buy up to three luggage “bags”, in easyJet parlance, each of which allows you to take a single hold item weighing up to 70.7 lbs (32 kg). If your foldable bicycle fits the required parameters, you can take that as one of your “bags”. You can also take a small cabin item without a weight limit, as long as you can carry it on your own. Unfortunately you won’t be able to travel with any pets.

How to find cheap flight tickets from London to Glasgow?

The easiest way to find cheap flight tickets to Glasgow from London is to book with easyJet. You can save a large amount if you do, and on a short-haul flight like this you can forego most of the on-board facilities that aren’t available on a budget airline, in any case.

You can also score cheaper tickets on this route by using the Omio timetable to book a good few months in advance – airlines often offer early-bird specials. By the same token, you can take advantage of last-minute specials if you stay flexible about the time and date on which you travel. One again, keep an eye on Omio for these. In the case of a short flight like this you won’t be able to save by choosing a longer flight with more stopovers, but keep that in mind in general when you’re planning other trips.

Glasgow University Panoramic View. Source: Shutterstock

To Glasgow by plane—travel tips

Glasgow often plays second fiddle to Edinburgh when it comes to tourist allure, but it has just as many attractions. Glasgow Cathedral is one of the most significant in Scotland, built in the 12th century. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum isn’t as well-known as many others in the UK, but this belies its fine collection of Scottish and European paintings, by artists like Van Gogh and Salvador Dali.

For shopping, coffee shops, artisanal bistros and pubs, head to the Merchant District and George Square. Another uniquely Glaswegian attraction is its Necropolis, a fascinating Victorian garden graveyard with finely sculpted tombstones.

To explore a tall ship from bygone days, visit the Riverside Museum. If you’re looking for something more modern, or you’re travelling with kids, the Glasgow Science Centre has fascinating interactive exhibits and an iMAX theatre. When it comes to natural attractions, Glasgow Botanic Gardens in the grounds of Kibble Palace has one of the largest glasshouses in the UK, built in 1873.