The Worst Airports In The World For Surface Transport

Simon Calder names flight hubs on his 'must try harder' list

- Simon Calder

You I say you want an aviation revolution? Well, had that question been posed in the mid-1930s, the answer would have been found 27 miles south of London - at a brand-new airport, Gatwick. The hub was built right next to the main railway line, halfway between the capital and Brighton.

Surface connectivity has served the UK’s second airport well over the decades. Links have come and gone: the Sussex Scot no longer connects Gatwick with Edinburgh and Glasgow (easyJet has taken the traffic), while Kent no longer has a direct train to the airport. But the repertoire of routes remains impressive.

Northbound, there are 15 trains each off-peak hour to London with some services continuing to Cambridge, Peterborough and Bedford. A link to Reading provides easy connections to the west of England. Southbound, Gatwick has direct trains to Brighton, the rest of the south coast and Southampton.

Gatwick is now much easier to use, after a £250m rejuvenation of its rail station. It has the biggest range of rail options among UK airports, with Manchester second. Birmingham, Luton (with the new Dart shuttle link), Southampton and Stansted are not far behind. Heathrow’s access by rail has been transformed by the Elizabeth line. But if those are good – where is it bad?