London City to event helipads by helicopter
London City is the fastest airport into the capital and the slowest into a helicopter: the field is fixed-wing only, so the pattern is a 20-minute run to Battersea or a 30-minute run to Biggin Hill, then the flight.
London City Airport does not handle helicopters. Guests transfer by car to Battersea Heliport — about 20–30 minutes through the City and along the river — or to Biggin Hill for south-bound events. Battersea to Ascot is about 15 minutes and £1,900–£2,300; Battersea to Silverstone is 22 minutes and £2,600–£3,100. Allow 55–70 minutes from wheels-down to lift-off.
London City to venue pads — guide prices
| Venue / event | Landing point | Flight time | One-way range | By road |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ascot Racecourse Royal Ascot | On-site racecourse event helipad | 15 min | £1,900–£2,300 | 90 minutes to 2 hours across London in race week |
Silverstone Circuit British Grand Prix, MotoGP | Official circuit event helipad (slot-controlled) | 22 min | £2,600–£3,100 | 3 hours or more on race Sunday |
Goodwood Revival, Festival of Speed | Goodwood Aerodrome (EGHR), beside the circuit | 30 min | £2,500–£3,000 | 2.5–3 hours down the A3 on Revival Saturday |
Wimbledon (AELTC area) The Championships | No venue pad — Battersea plus a 20-minute car leg | 8 min | £1,700–£2,100 | 60–90 minutes on finals weekend |
Henley-on-Thames Henley Royal Regatta | Approved riverside sites and White Waltham (EGLM) | 18 min | £2,000–£2,500 | 90 minutes to 2 hours on finals weekend |
Indicative one-way ranges for a four-to-six seat twin-engine VIP helicopter (AW109, EC135 or similar), excluding VAT, landing, handling and event slot fees. Ranges widen on peak event days and for aircraft repositioning outside the London area. Operators return firm pricing per mission.
Lowest published leg from London City: £1,700 one-way.
Getting from the terminal to the aircraft
Battersea Heliport (EGLW) — 20–30 minutes by car from LCY depending on the City traffic, and the default connection for Ascot, Silverstone and Goodwood.
London Biggin Hill (EGKB) — about 30–40 minutes by car and the better choice for Sussex and Kent venues, with full FBO facilities if the group is waiting.
A driver meets the aircraft or the terminal, and bags move once — LCY's single-terminal layout makes this the quickest airport-to-car handover in London.
Battersea operates within fixed noise hours, so late-evening returns route to Biggin Hill or Northolt instead.
Timing the connection
- Allow 55–70 minutes from wheels-down at LCY to helicopter lift-off at Battersea, most of which is the road leg through the City.
- Weekday morning arrivals into LCY hit the worst of the westbound traffic — if the schedule is tight, arrive the evening before or route the flight from Biggin Hill.
- Book inbound and outbound slots together so the venue pad reserves your departure wave.
- Battersea closes for late-evening movements, so plan the return before the noise curfew or accept a Biggin Hill or Northolt arrival.
- For groups above six, two aircraft on adjacent pad slots clear faster than one heavy cabin — and the Battersea road leg is the same either way.
London City helicopter questions
No. London City is a fixed-wing field and does not handle general-aviation helicopter movements. Connections run by car to Battersea Heliport (20–30 minutes) or Biggin Hill (30–40 minutes), and the helicopter departs from there.
Indicatively £1,900–£2,300 one-way for a four-to-six seat twin lifting from Battersea after the car leg, before VAT, landing and event fees. The flight is about 15 minutes to the on-site racecourse helipad.
About 22 minutes in the air from Battersea, with 55–70 minutes total from landing at LCY to lifting off. The equivalent road journey on race Sunday is three hours or more.
Luton, Farnborough and Biggin Hill hand you straight to the helicopter on the apron. Gatwick can do it with a prior-permission rotary slot. Heathrow and London City cannot, and both need a car leg to a heliport first.
Where pad space allows. Otherwise the aircraft departs empty and returns for your outbound slot; both patterns are priced into the day-return figure, so the quote does not move on the day.