London Rome

Heathrow has four active terminals and your airline determines which one you use. Terminal 5 is British Airways territory, the newest and most polished. Terminal 2, the Queen's Terminal, handles Star Alliance carriers. Terminal 3 has Virgin Atlantic and several US carriers. Terminal 4 is smaller and serves a mix of international airlines.

The terminals are not walkable between each other. Free inter-terminal transfers run on the Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express between T2/T3 (which share a central area) and T5. T4 requires a separate bus. Build in 60 minutes if you need to change terminals for a connection.

Immigration at 6 to 8 AM is slow. The morning wave of transatlantic red-eyes all land in the same window, and queues back up. E-gates work for US passport holders, which helps, but the volume is real. The airport is well-signed and functional, not beautiful. Shopping is extensive if you clear customs early.

Stansted is a single-terminal airport designed by Norman Foster, and the building itself is worth noticing. The roof structure is a clean white canopy held up by trees of steel columns. It opened in 1991 and still looks modern. The terminal is compact and navigation is straightforward.

Stansted is a budget carrier hub. Ryanair dominates the departure boards. Long-haul service is limited. Most traffic is European short-haul on budget carriers. The airport does one thing well: move large numbers of passengers through a simple layout with short walking distances.

It sits 40 miles northeast of central London, the farthest of the four London airports from the city. The Stansted Express runs to Liverpool Street in 47 minutes, which is reasonable, but you are starting from much farther out.

Gatwick has two terminals, North and South, connected by a free shuttle train that takes about two minutes. South Terminal is the larger of the two and handles most scheduled long-haul flights. North Terminal serves a mix of short-haul and charter carriers.

The airport is smaller than Heathrow and easier to navigate. Security queues are generally shorter except during summer holiday peaks. The walk from security to gates in South Terminal is short. The overall experience is less stressful than Heathrow, which is part of the appeal for budget travelers.

Gatwick sits 30 miles south of central London, roughly twice the distance of Heathrow. The Gatwick Express runs to Victoria in 30 minutes, which is competitive, but Victoria is not as well connected to east London as Paddington.

Luton is a single-terminal airport 35 miles north of central London that has been undergoing expansion. The DART people-mover opened in 2023, replacing the old shuttle bus from the Luton Airport Parkway rail station. That shuttle bus was always the weakest link in getting to central London from Luton, and the DART fixes it.

The terminal is compact and functional. It serves mostly budget carriers on European routes. Any transatlantic service from New York is rare and seasonal. The airport handles fewer passengers than Heathrow, Gatwick, or Stansted, and it shows in the smaller food and retail options.

Luton works well for travelers headed to the north side of London, Bedfordshire, or the Midlands. For everyone else, the distance to central London and the limited flight options make it primarily a budget carrier airport.

Fiumicino sits on the coast twenty miles southwest of central Rome. Terminal 3 handles most long-haul international flights, including all nonstops from New York. The airport has four terminals spread across a wide footprint, and the walking distances between them are long enough to factor into your timing if you are connecting between flights.

The Leonardo Express train platform is inside the airport, connected to Terminal 3 by a covered walkway. You clear customs, follow signs for the train, and you are on a platform within ten minutes. The 32-minute ride to Roma Termini is the default exit. Early morning arrivals are congested: every US East Coast red-eye lands in the same window, and immigration queues can run 20 to 40 minutes before you reach the train.

Food and shopping inside the international arrivals area are limited. Once past customs, the landside opens up. If you are departing, Terminal 3 airside has enough restaurants and shops to fill a long wait, though nothing you would cross town for.

Ciampino is the smaller of Rome's two airports, nine miles southeast of the city center. No transatlantic service operates here. The airport handles European low-cost carriers and charter flights, with a single terminal building that feels more like a regional bus depot than an international airport.

The terminal is compact enough that you can walk from the entrance to the gate in five minutes. There are no jet bridges: you walk across the tarmac to board. Security is fast because the passenger volume is low compared to Fiumicino. If you are arriving on a European budget flight and connecting to a transatlantic departure, you need to get yourself to Fiumicino separately, which is a trip across the city.