World’s most misleadingly named airports revealed by Skyscanner
Hang on a second! This isn’t London! It’s Southend! We reveal the 15 most misleadingly-named airports that are a long way out of town… and the 15 airports that are closest to where they say they are.
Plane lands at eight. Cab to your hotel. You’ll be in the bar by nine. Not if the airport is 50 miles from where you’re staying!
Many budget airlines use ‘secondary’ airports because of the lower operational costs compared to more central airports, which is totally fair enough – it means you get a cheap fare. But do check where you’re actually flying to before you book – it’s not always what it says on the tin.
We all know that London Stansted isn’t exactly in London, but calling it the Essex-Herts Border International just isn’t as sexy. The same goes for airports abroad.
For example, say you want to go to Stockholm. The Swedish capital has four airports. Both Stockholm (Skavsta) and Stockholm (Västerås) are 62 miles (99km) from central Stockholm. Which is great if you’re not actually going to Stockholm. If Nyköping is where you’re heading, then great, it serves your needs. Heading off hiking? You can actually start walking on the 1000 kilometre Sörmlandsleden trail straight from the arrivals hall! In which case, thank you Ryanair. But if you can’t ignore that rock-bottom flight price, do factor in the time (especially of you’re arriving late in the day) and transport costs.
But if you’re in Stockholm on business or for a weekend break, when you can’t afford to spend time on a long transfer from the airport to your hotel or meeting, you are probably best flying to Stockholm (Arlanda), which is a mere (!) 20 miles (37km) from the city centre, although you may pay more for your fliight as you’ll need to fly on a scheduled airline like BA.
Last year Ryanair added Paris-Vatry Disney to its list of destinations. With both ‘Paris’ and ‘Disney’ in the name, you might expect the airport to be located in the vicinity of either the French capital or Euro Disney. However, at 93 miles from Paris’ city centre, and 70 miles from Europe’s ‘Magic Kingdom’, Paris-Vatry Disney set a new record in misleading airport nomenclature.
Munich’s Memmingen airport is 70 miles from central Munich, Oslo Torp is 68 miles from central Oslo, and new easyJet (it’s not just Ryanair!) base, London Southend, is 40 miles from the city centre (the same distance as London Stansted is from central London). Here are the top 15 offenders:
Most misleadingly named airports
1. Paris-Vatry (Disney) – 93 miles (150km) from central Paris (and 70 miles (112km) from Disneyland Paris) 2. Munich West (Memmingen) – 70 miles (112km) from central Munich 3. Oslo (Torp) – 68 miles (110km) from central Oslo 4. Frankfurt (Hahn) – 68 miles (110km) from central Frankfurt 5. Stockholm (Västerås) – 62 miles (99km) from central Stockholm 6. Stockholm (Skavsta) – 62 miles (99km) from central Stockholm 7. London (Oxford) – 60 miles (97km) from central London 8. Barcelona (Girona) – 58 miles (94km) from central Barcelona 9. Barcelona (Reus) – 58 miles (94km) from central Barcelona 10. Paris (Beauvais ) – 55miles (88km) from central Paris 11. Dusseldorf (Weeze) – 50 miles (80 km) from central Dusseldorf 12. London (Stansted) – 40 miles (64km) from central London 13. London (Southend) – 40 miles (64km) from central London 14. Tokyo (Narita) – 37 miles (60km) from central Tokyo 15. Verona (Brescia) – 33 miles (53km) from central Verona
Airports which really do serve their cites
1. Taipei Sungshan Airport – 3 miles (5km) from central Taipei 2. Salt Lake City Airport – 3 miles (5km) from central Salt Lake City 3. San Diego Airport – 3 miles (5km) from central San Diego 4. Tallinn Airport – 3 miles (5km) from central Tallinn 5. Belfast (George Best) – 3 miles (5km) from central Belfast 6. Wellington Airport – 4 miles (7km) from central Wellington 7. Honolulu Airport – 4 miles (7km) from central Honolulu 8. Lisbon Airport – 4 miles (7km) from central Lisbon 9. Mexico City Juarez International – 4 miles (7km) from central Mexico City 10. Bucharest Banessa Airport – 4.5 miles (8.5km) from central Bucharest 11. Cagliari Airport – 5 miles (9km) from central Cagliari 12. London City Airport – 6 miles (10km) from central London 13. Warsaw Airport – 6 miles (10km) from central Warsaw 14. Vancouver Airport – 8 miles (13km) from central Vancouver 15. Edinburgh Airport- 8 miles (13km) from central Edinburgh
