Transport
London airports at night: the cheapest way in and out, hour by hour
On this page
The short answer
Heathrow: the N9 night bus, £1.75, every night. Stansted and Luton: coaches that run round the clock, from £7. Gatwick: coaches from £6 (check your service runs overnight). London City: route 474, which TfL says is a 24-hour service. Prices read on 5 October 2026.
Flights do not respect the railway timetable. A 6am departure means arriving at 4am. A delayed evening landing can put you in an arrivals hall at 1am with no train for hours. This page is the night half of the story. For daytime fares and every way of paying less, see the cheapest way to and from London’s airports.
The cheapest overnight route, per airport
| Airport | Cheapest overnight route | From | Runs through the night? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | N9 night bus to Aldwych | £1.75 | Yes, every 30 minutes |
| Stansted | National Express or Flibco coach | £7 / £7.49 | Yes, 24 hours |
| Luton | National Express coach | £7 | Yes, around the clock |
| Gatwick | National Express coach | £6 | Most coaches and buses run 24 hours; it varies by service |
| London City | Route 474 | TfL bus fare | TfL says it is a 24-hour service: check the live timetable |
Coach prices are “from” prices for limited seats, and National Express states them as correct on 13 July 2026. Read on 5 October 2026 on each operator’s own page.
Heathrow
The N9 runs from Terminal 5 and Heathrow Central bus station to Aldwych every 30 minutes. It costs the London bus fare, £1.75, and the Hopper fare gives you unlimited bus journeys within one hour for that one fare. The daily bus cap is £5.25. It is slow, but at 3am on a weekday it is the cheap option.
Piccadilly line trains from Heathrow to central London start at 05:12 (Terminals 2 and 3), 05:02 (Terminal 4) and 05:22 (Terminal 5), and the last leave at 23:45, 23:35 and 23:42. On Sundays the last trains are earlier: 23:28, 22:37 and 23:25.
The Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights at off-peak fares.
The Night Tube does not serve Terminal 4. If you are flying from T4 on a Friday or Saturday night, travel to Terminals 2 and 3 and transfer. This single fact has stranded a lot of people.
The Heathrow Express (£26.00 single) has its first train from Paddington at 04:34 Monday to Saturday (04:55 on Sundays) and its last from Terminal 5 at 23:57. The Elizabeth line takes 28 minutes between Paddington and Heathrow. Neither is a night service.
Stansted
Coaches run through the night. National Express says it runs 24/7 with more than 150 daily services from London, from £7 one way, with the fastest journey about 45 minutes. Flibco says its coaches run every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day, from £7.49, taking about 30 minutes from Redbridge, 50 from Stratford and 1 hour 30 from Liverpool Street or Finsbury Park.
Stansted Express trains start between 03:40 and 04:40 from Liverpool Street, depending on the day, and the last is at 23:25. For a 6am departure, a coach is the dependable option.
Gatwick
National Express runs between London Victoria and Gatwick up to 32 times a day from £6 one way. Gatwick says most coach and bus services run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but it varies by service: check the timetable of the one you plan to use.
Gatwick Express runs non-stop to Victoria twice an hour in 30 minutes. Extra overnight Great Western Railway trains ran in the early hours of Saturday and Monday mornings from 6 June to 12 September only, so do not plan a 3am train around them now.
Luton
National Express coaches run around the clock, up to 49 a day, from £7, in as little as 35 minutes. By train, you go to Luton Airport Parkway and take the Luton DART, which reaches the terminal in under four minutes and runs 24 hours a day, every 15 minutes between 22:00 and 04:00. The DART costs £4.90 on its own, or buy train and DART together by choosing “Luton Airport” (LUA) as your destination.
London City
This guide used to say that London City has no night service at all. That was wrong. Route 474 calls at London City Airport, and TfL says it is a 24-hour service. The DLR is not part of the Night Tube network: its first trains from the airport leave at about 05:25 to 06:05 on a weekday. Check the live 474 timetable for the night you fly.
Which lines actually run at night
| Runs overnight | |
|---|---|
| Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Windrush | Friday and Saturday nights only |
| Every other Tube line | No |
| DLR | No |
| Elizabeth line | No |
| Night buses (N-prefixed) | Every night |
Night Tube fares are off-peak rates. Full detail in which Tube lines run at night.
Christmas Day: there is nothing
On 25 December there is no TfL bus, Tube or rail service at all, and no National Rail. Book a car weeks ahead or do not fly that day. See what is open on Christmas Day and bank holidays.
Three rules that save the night
1. Check your terminal, not just your airport. Heathrow Terminal 4 has no Night Tube.
2. Book the coach in advance. The cheap fares are limited, and National Express adds a £1.50 booking fee unless you are logged in to a My Account.
3. Do the arithmetic on arriving early. Arriving at 3am for a 6am flight is uncomfortable, but the terminal is warm and lit, and far cheaper than a night taxi. Take a jumper.
And once you land
If you arrive at 1am with no onward train, find the coach stand before you join the taxi queue. See getting home after the last train and what is open right now.
You may also need
Somewhere to sit until morning, food after midnight, finding a toilet and the full 3am-to-6am playbook.
Sources
Read on 5 October 2026: Heathrow Underground, TfL bus fares, Heathrow Express, National Express Stansted, Flibco, Stansted by train, National Express Gatwick, Gatwick coach and bus, Gatwick by train, National Express Luton, Luton DART and London City Airport DLR. Left luggage desks keep staffed hours and are not an overnight option.