European cities with more than one airport
By Su-Ann Mae Phillips
Just as there can be more than one international airport in an Asian city, several European cities can have more than one international airport. If you are a traveler who prefers to make independent flight arrangements, you would want to pay extra attention as to which airport the flights operate from, especially if transit flights are involved. In some cases, with careful planning, it is possible to arrange for transit flights out of different airports in different cities, given the excellent rail connections between European cities.
As in the case for airports in Asia, the term “international” airport does not adequately distinguish one airport from another in the same way it does for American airports. Given the large passenger volumes handled by European airports as a whole, many larger European cities have several airports. It is also common for each airport to have more than one terminal. Some terminals within the same airport specifically serve as domestic markets or are used by budget carriers. A number of airports that serve the EU region and do not offer transatlantic and/or other international flights are also considered as “international” airports.
European cities with more than one airport offering international flights to take note of are London, Paris and Berlin. London is served by the most number of airports - five – London Heathrow (LHR), London City (LCY), London Gatwick (LGW), London Stansted (STN) and London Luton (LTN). There are three airports in Paris – Roissy Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Paris Orly (ORY) and Beauvais (BVA) and in Berlin – Berlin Tegel (TXL), Berlin Schonefeld (SXF) and Berlin Tempelhof. Stockholm and Moscow also have three operating airports each.
It is important to note which airport you will be arriving or departing from, as the airports are not located next to each other, and some traveling between the airports will be necessary. When traveling to the airport by public transport, allow plenty of time to cater for service disruptions, poor traffic and poor weather conditions.
When selecting which European airport to arrive or depart from, travelers would want to consider what land connections or land transfer options are available at the time of their arrival or departure from that particular airport. Given that hiring a private taxi is expensive in Europe, most airports are connected to the rail system, or have bus services that connect the airport to the nearest train station or city center. However, most public transport systems do not operate 24 hours, and some services only operate during the warmer months of the year. Hiring a private car from the airport to get to your final destination is another option many travelers consider when arriving at an airport at odd hours of the morning. It can be an economical option if there are more than two passengers.
Travelers would also want to factor in the time and cost to travel from the airport to the final destination. As a general guide, the busier the airport, the more land transfer options will be available. Some airports that have less passenger volumes will inevitably have less land transfer options. For example, bus transfers to the University of Oxford for students are available at the London Heathrow and Gatwick airports only; students arriving from the other London airports need to make additional transfers to either Heathrow or Gatwick in order to catch the bus service to Oxford from London.
While it may be confusing for large European cities to have more than one airport, there is a benefit for travelers flying into cities that are served by more than one airport. As these cities tend to be large, travelers can select flights that arrive or depart from airports that are located closest to their final destination, or offer the best land transfer connections to their final destination.