How to choose between nearby airports

Start from your real start and end points

A city name hides a lot of geography. A metropolitan area can be large enough that an airport on the far side of it is effectively a different trip from one near your hotel, office or home. Before comparing airports, fix the two points that matter: where you set off from, and where you need to be at the other end.

Then measure from those points, not from the city centre. The nearby airports finder lists the airports with scheduled flights around any place you choose, nearest first.

How often there is a real choice

Choosing an airport is common, not a big-city exception. Of the 7,281 populated places in our data, 2,463 have at least two airports with scheduled passenger service within 100 km of their centre point, and 1,034 have three or more. Distances are straight-line (great-circle) distances, so they understate the journey by road or rail.^{[1–4] sources}

For the places with the most airports nearby, see our research on cities with the most airports within 100 km.^{[4] source}

What to compare

Worked example: New York

Here is what the data shows for New York, measured from Natural Earth’s representative point for the city — roughly its centre. Your own start point will give different distances, which is the point of the exercise. See all airports near New York.^{[1–4] sources}

“Large” and “medium” are OurAirports’ classifications, not measures of quality, and the scheduled-service flag does not say which airlines fly or how often. To compare the large airports side by side, see EWR vs JFK, EWR vs LGA, JFK vs LGA.^{[1–4] sources}

Common trade-offs

• A farther airport can have different airlines and departure times — compare flights as well as distance.
• Late arrivals: check the last train or bus from the airport, not just the first.
• Parking, transfers and tolls add to the trip; the provider’s fare doesn’t include them.
• Flying into one airport and out of another (an open-jaw trip) can suit a trip that moves between areas.
• Two separately booked flights from different airports are a self-transfer: allow generous time and plan for bags.

A five-step decision

1. 1

   Fix your start and end points

   Your address, hotel or meeting place — not the city name.

2. 2

   List the airports around them

   Use the nearby airports finder or a page of airports near your city.

3. 3

   Check ground transport for each

   Use the airport’s and transport operators’ own websites for routes and hours.

4. 4

   Search them together

   Search the city code, or each airport, for your dates (searching for flights).

5. 5

   Compare door to door

   Add both transfers to each flight option and compare the whole trip.

Before you book

• The airport code on the booking is the one you meant.
• You know how you’ll reach that airport at your departure time.
• You know how you’ll get from the arrival airport at your arrival time.
• If the flights are separate bookings, the connection time allows for delays and bags.