City Airport

Getting between City Airport and London, both directions.

Heathrow and London City sit inside the zones your contactless or Oyster card already covers, and London City is the only one of the six with no airport premium on top. Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Southend lie beyond the zone edge on National Rail, where the operator you board sets the fare, sells its own discounts, and runs its own caps or none at all. The daily limit on what your card can be charged in town does not necessarily reach that far.

City Airport ↔ London

The best ways into London

Public transport

DLR (London City Airport station) CheapestFastest by public transportSimplest

Costs
Among the cheapest ways in
Takes
About 25 minutes to the centre
Pay
Pay by contactless, Oyster card, Travelcard or paper ticket.

Taxis and ride apps

Black cab londoncityairport.com

Pay
Pay by contactless.
Get one
Take one from the taxi rank, book it by phone or in the app or hail one in the street. The pickup point is below.
Pickup
There's a black cab taxi rank just outside the terminal entrance.
Uber uber.com

Pay
Pay by in-app payment.
Get one
Book it in the app or online. The pickup point is below.
Pickup
Curbside at the terminal per Uber's app instructions; Uber's own LCY page references a dedicated LCY Airport pickup page for pickup arrangements.
Bolt bolt.eu

Pay
Pay by in-app payment.
Get one
Book it in the app. The pickup point is below.
Pickup
Pre-booked private hire vehicles collect from the pick-up area in the Short Stay car park.
FreeNow free-now.com

Pay
Pay by in-app payment, cash or card.
Get one
Book it in the app. The pickup point is below.
Pickup
Freenow provides in-app walking directions from arrivals to the driver at airports it serves; Pre-booked PHVs collect from the pick-up area in the Short Stay car park.

Every way in and out, in full

Metro 1

DLR (London City Airport station) tfl.gov.uk ~25 min

How you pay: Pay by contactless, Oyster card, Travelcard or paper ticket.
Terminals: Single terminal - London City Airport DLR station is directly adjacent to the terminal, connected by a short covered walkway (~2 minutes) with lifts/escalators and step-free access.
Worth knowing: Standard TfL Zone 3 zonal PAYG fares - the only London airport with no airport premium and full daily/weekly cap coverage, because it sits inside the normal zonal system (Zone 3).

londoncityairport.comfetched 19 Jul 2026

Taxi & ride apps 6

Black cab londoncityairport.com

How you pay: Pay by contactless. Card guaranteed.
How you get one: Take one from the taxi rank, book it by phone or in the app or hail one in the street. The pickup point is below.
Where to get one: There's a black cab taxi rank just outside the terminal entrance.
Terminals: Single terminal
Worth knowing: London City Airport's own Picking-Up Passengers by Car & Charges page confirms a tiered Pick-Up charge structure applies to vehicles using the signposted Pick-Up area near the terminal (existence confirmed, no amounts recorded here per policy).

londoncityairport.comfetched 19 Jul 2026

tfl.gov.ukfetched 19 Jul 2026