London City is the strangest airport we serve, and the most interesting to price. It sits in the Royal Docks, about 6 miles east of the City of London and 3 miles east of Canary Wharf — so on a map it is the nearest London airport to nothing in Surrey, and the journey is entirely a London traffic problem rather than a distance one.
Here is what that means in practice. Our Kingston office is 20.0 miles from the terminal and the drive takes about 1 hour 18 minutes — an average of roughly 15 miles an hour, the slowest on our entire network. Our Epsom office is 48.9 miles away, more than twice as far, and gets there in about 1 hour 11, because it goes round the M25 instead of through London. Being closer to London City makes you slower to London City.
Clocktower Cars runs minicabs to London City Airport from eleven offices across Surrey and south London. Fixed price agreed before you book, licensed drivers, flight tracking on arrivals.
| Office | Route | Distance | Typical drive | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epsom (head office) | M25 | 48.9 miles | about 1 hr 11 min | about 41 mph |
| Epsom | M25 and A2 | 46.9 miles | about 1 hr 22 min | about 34 mph |
| Kingston | through London | 20.0 miles | about 1 hr 18 min | about 15 mph |
Twenty-nine miles separates those two journeys and seven minutes separates their arrival times — in favour of the longer one. Kingston is close enough to cut straight across town, which is exactly the problem: the direct line runs through some of the slowest road space in Britain. Epsom is far enough out to go round on the motorway and keep moving.
Nowhere else do we see a 15 mph average. For comparison, our Reigate to Gatwick run averages about 25 mph, and Guildford to Gatwick about 50. A London City booking is bought in minutes, not in miles, and it should be priced and planned that way.
Routes into east London can pass through central London charging zones depending on the roads used and the time of day. Where a charge applies to your journey it is accounted for in the quote you are given rather than appearing afterwards. If you want the route kept clear of a particular zone, say so when you book and we will tell you what that does to the time.
Most people asking us about this airport ask for a minicab — a minicab to City Airport, a London City Airport minicab, a minicab to London City. That makes sense: the airport is inside London, and minicab is the London word. A taxi to London City Airport, a London City Airport cab and a car to London City are all the same booking with us.
The legal distinction matters here more than at most airports, because you are travelling into black-cab territory. A hackney carriage can be hailed and runs on a meter. A private hire minicab must be pre-booked and is quoted as a fixed price. On a journey where the time can swing by half an hour with the traffic, a meter puts that risk on you and a fixed quote puts it on us. Our minicab versus black cab page explains it in full.
A taxi to London City Airport and a minicab to London City Airport are the same thing when you book with us: a pre-booked private hire car at a fixed price. We use the word minicab on this page because it is the London word and it is what most people searching for this airport actually type, but a London City Airport taxi is exactly what you will get.
The one practical difference worth knowing is that you cannot hail us. A London City taxi from Clocktower Cars has to be booked in advance, which on this route is an advantage rather than a limitation: it is the only way to get a fixed price on a journey whose duration depends entirely on London traffic. A metered London City taxi hands you that risk; a quoted fare does not.
Book the London City taxi home at the same time as the outbound where you can. Give us the flight number so we track it, and tell us whether you want meeting inside arrivals or at the designated pickup area. The terminal is small, so walking out is quick — but on a late arrival after a delay, having a car already waiting is worth a great deal.
London City has a single two-storey terminal with 15 gates, all hardstands. There are no jet bridges at all, so every flight is walk-boarding. One terminal means no terminal to get wrong, and the building is small enough that the walk from the kerb to security is short — which is precisely why business travellers like it.
The airport is in the London Borough of Newham and handled 3,737,888 passengers in 2025. Its runway is 1,508 metres long and aircraft must fly a 5.5-degree approach, far steeper than normal, so only certain types can use it — multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft up to Embraer E195-E2, Airbus A220 and A318 size. British Airways, through BA CityFlyer, dominates, alongside KLM, Swiss and Luxair.
We get asked about accessibility at this airport more than at any other, and the terminal layout is the reason it is worth answering properly. Because all 15 gates are hardstands with walk-boarding and no jet bridges, boarding involves getting from the terminal to the aircraft across the apron. Assistance for that is arranged through your airline and the airport, so request it when you book your flight, not on the day.
What we handle is the part before and after: getting you there and home. We run wheelchair accessible vehicles with ramped access and the chair secured properly in the vehicle. On a journey that can run to an hour and a quarter, the right vehicle matters, and it has to be allocated in advance rather than found at short notice — so tell us when you book. We can also carry a folding chair in a standard car if that suits you better; just say which.
The same applies to travelling with a pet, child seats, and medical journeys. None of it is a problem booked ahead; all of it is a problem sprung on a driver at the kerb.
This airport exists for business travellers. A small terminal, a short walk to security and a DLR station attached to the building make it the quickest London airport to get through. The weak point in the chain is the road journey from Surrey, which is the longest-feeling 20 miles in the country.
That is where a pre-booked car earns its place. A 09:00 flight out of London City with a client meeting at the other end does not survive a hopeful guess about the South Circular. Give us the flight time and we will build the margin in, and tell you honestly what time you need to leave.
For regular travellers an account makes this considerably simpler: one monthly invoice, named cost centres, and bookings placed by a PA or EA without a card each time. See the corporate chauffeur service and executive travel pages, or our executive cars for a client collection.
A connection that involves changing London airports is a genuine thing people need, and it is a job we do. London City to Heathrow, London City to Gatwick, London City to Luton, and all of those in reverse. It is a road journey across or around London with a flight at each end, so the margin matters enormously and it has to be pre-booked with both flight numbers.
Tell us both flights when you book. We track the inbound one, so if it is late the driver knows before you have landed. Our Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton pages carry the measured times for the other end of those journeys.
Give us the flight number and your free waiting period starts when the aircraft lands. Beyond it, waiting is charged by the quarter hour, and we ring you before the clock starts rather than letting it run.
Quoted per journey, and on this airport more than any other the quote is about time rather than distance. What goes into it:
Airport entry and drop-off charges are included rather than added at the barrier. We publish no London City fare table: a price covering a whole town is wrong for most people in it, and on a route this traffic-dependent it would be wrong twice over. For the full explanation of airport pricing, see what an airport taxi costs and what sets the price.
From inside London, frequently yes, and we would rather be straight about it. London City Airport DLR station is an elevated station adjoining the terminal building, with services to Canary Wharf, the City, Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal, and interchanges onto the Underground, Overground, Elizabeth line and national rail. If you are at Canary Wharf, the DLR is unbeatable.
From Surrey it is a different calculation. A rail route from Godalming, Reigate or Sutton means a train to a London terminus, a cross-city leg, then the DLR — three or four changes with your bags. For one person travelling light it can still win. For two or more, for an early flight, or when you are carrying anything substantial, the car is both quicker door to door and better value.
| Town | Office and number | The London City journey |
|---|---|---|
| Epsom | Epsom, 01372 747 747 | 48.9 miles, about 1 hr 11 min round the M25 — quicker than the shorter way. |
| Ewell | Epsom or Ewell West, 0208 330 5555 | Same corridor as Epsom. |
| Kingston | Kingston, 0203 388 9999 | 20.0 miles but about 1 hr 18 min. The whole route is London traffic. |
| Surbiton | Kingston, 0203 388 9999 | London City to Surbiton is a route we already rank for. |
| Thames Ditton | Kingston or Weybridge | Ask which office is quoting. |
| Morden | Carshalton or Sutton | A24 and the South Circular; a slow but short route. |
| Sutton | Sutton, 0208 643 2255 | Through south London or round the M25; we will advise on the day’s traffic. |
| Carshalton | Carshalton, 0208 773 0700 | Similar to Sutton. |
| Cheam | Sutton or Epsom | Ask which office is quoting. |
| Worcester Park | Sutton or Kingston | Both viable; the quicker one depends on the hour. |
| Chessington | Chessington, 0208 397 4747 | A3 then round or through, depending on the time. |
| Tolworth | Chessington, 0208 397 4747 | Straight onto the A3. |
| Reigate | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | M25 clockwise and in from the east; a long but steady run. |
| Banstead | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | No direct rail; the car is the practical option. |
| Weybridge | Weybridge, 01932 598 598 | M25 clockwise, the long way round but the quicker one. |
| Esher | Weybridge, 01932 598 598 | On the Weybridge corridor. |
| Guildford | Guildford, 01483 301 000 | A3 to the M25; a long run, so build in the margin. |
| Godalming | Godalming, 01483 422 222 | Our longest London City run. |
Not listed? Try the branch locator or see every office on find us. Other airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted, or everything on airport transfers.
Book through book now or ring your nearest office.
For an executive car, one named driver and a meet inside the terminal, see our London City Airport chauffeur service — which also covers airport chauffeur bookings to all five London airports.
About 1 hour 11 minutes from Epsom, going 48.9 miles round the M25, and about 1 hour 18 from Kingston, going only 20.0 miles through London. The shorter route is the slower one. Both figures assume reasonable traffic; a weekday rush hour can add considerably.
Because Kingston is close enough that the sensible route goes through London rather than round it, and that means 20 miles at an average of about 15 mph. Epsom is far enough out to use the M25 at about 41 mph. The motorway wins despite being more than twice the distance.
We quote it per journey, from your actual address, the time of day and the vehicle you need. On this route driver time rather than mileage drives the figure, so the hour you travel matters more than it would to Gatwick or Heathrow. You will have a price in under a minute.
There is only one, a single two-storey terminal with 15 gates. No terminal to get wrong, and a notably short walk from the kerb to security.
We run wheelchair accessible vehicles with ramped access and the chair secured in the vehicle, and we can also carry a folding chair in a standard car. Request the vehicle when you book so it can be allocated. Assistance for boarding itself is arranged through your airline and the airport, and because all the gates are hardstands with walk-boarding, it is worth requesting that early rather than on the day.
Yes, in both directions, and to Luton as well. Give us both flight numbers when you book so we can track the inbound one and build a sensible margin into the road leg.
Where a charge applies to your route it is accounted for in the quote you are given, not added afterwards. If you would rather the route avoided a particular zone, tell us and we will explain what that does to the journey time.
Yes, if you give us the flight number. Your free waiting period starts when the aircraft lands rather than when you estimated.
From inside London, often yes — the DLR station adjoins the terminal. From Surrey it means a train to a London terminus, a cross-city leg and then the DLR, so for two or more people, an early flight, or any real luggage, the car is quicker door to door.
No. On a route where the journey time swings by half an hour with the traffic, a published town-wide price would be misleading in both directions. We quote per journey and the figure holds.
Tell us your address and your flight time. We will tell you honestly what time to leave, and give you one fixed price before you book.
Get a London City quote and book online — or ring your nearest office: Epsom 01372 747 747, Kingston 0203 388 9999, Sutton 0208 643 2255, Carshalton 0208 773 0700, Chessington 0208 397 4747, Weybridge 01932 598 598, Reigate 01737 333 700, Guildford 01483 301 000, Godalming 01483 422 222, Bookham 01372 727 727, Ewell West 0208 330 5555.
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