London attracts so many visitors from around the world that it needs to have five airports to accommodate them all. What follows is a brief overview of each of those airports and details of how you can travel between them and Central London.

Heathrow Airport – Heathrow is London’s largest airport and is the world’s busiest for international passengers. It has five terminals and acts as a regional base to more than 90 airlines, which fly to over 150 destinations worldwide. It is located 22km west of Central London. The cheapest way to get to Central London from Heathrow is by using the London Underground. The journey takes less than an hour – though it will depend on your final destination – and costs around $6.

Gatwick Airport – Gatwick, located 45km south of the city center, is London’s second-largest airport. It is the main hub for discount and charter airlines. The journey from Gatwick Airport to central London, takes anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. To avoid potential traffic problems, you might want to consider a train instead, which will take you directly from the airport to Victoria Station.

Stansted Airport – Stansted is the definition of a budget airline hub but, despite the limited number of airlines, it is still London’s third busiest airport. It is located 48km northeast of the city center and there are convenient and reliable bus and train connections between the two. Stansted Bus and easyBus all would be your best options – they both send vehicles between the airport and Victoria Station, with the option to jump off at Marble Arch or Baker Street if you prefer.

Luton Airport – This small airport operates a single runway for the use of budget airlines traveling to and from European destinations. Located in the county of Bedfordshire 55km north of London, Luton Airport takes a while to get to and there may be more than one bus journey needed depending on your starting point. There are several round the clock bus services to and from London though, mostly run by Green Line and easyBus.

London City Airport – This is London’s smallest airport. The main users of it are business travelers as it is located so close to London’s financial district Canary Wharf. It is actually just 11km southeast of the city center. London City Airport only is compromised of just one runway and can not accommodate all types of planes (only those able to do short take-offs and landings). Getting to Central London is easy and convenient thanks to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

As an alternative, if you do not fancy flying directly into London, you can also fly to Birmingham Airport or Manchester Airport. Both of those are international airports are centrally located in the UK, meaning that you can reach either London or the north of the country in just a few hours.

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Plane Stupid Manchester Airport Action BBC News

Climate change protesters have cut through a perimeter fence at Manchester Airport in the UK and chained themselves to the wheels of an aircraft in protest against the planned expansion of the airport’s worldwide freight terminal.

The protest started at around 07:00 when six protesters gained access to the airfield by cutting a hole in the perimeter fence. A further group of around 10 protesters hoisted a banner reading ‘More air freight = more climate change – Stop all airport expansion now’ was raised by another group of around 10 protesters at the airport entrance. Luckily flights were only disrupted for about 20 minutes while security dealt with the intrusion.

The airport freight terminal currently processes around 170,000 tonnes of inbound and outbound freight every year. By 2015 the airport expects to increase that amount to around 250,000 tonnes per year.

A spokesperson for the environmental protest group Plane Stupid, who were responsible for the action, has said that the local-council owned airport has kept residents in the dark over plans to increase the freight handling capacity. The environmental campaigners claim that the proposed expansion makes no sense economically nor environmentally and that it is likely to mean that some people’s homes would be demolished The group say that the current freight handling capacity is under-utilised and that expanding this facility would act as a stepping stone toward expanding the airport as a whole, which would be an environmental disaster.

This latest action has come at a time when campaigners have claimed a victory after a high court judge has ordered a climate change review regarding the planned expansion of Heathrow airport.

The tactics employed by the Plane Stupid campaigners have received some criticism. The Plane Stupid action group are responsible for disrupting the travel plans of many thousands of people. The actions of this protest group have highlighted serious security issues at various British airports. Since it is apparently easy for a group of peaceful protesters to gain access to an aircraft can we be confident that others with more sinister intentions are not doing the same?

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Inside The Airbus A380

Emirates Airlines have announced that Manchester airport will be the first regional airport to routinely land the A380 superjumbo aircraft. It is planned that the superjumbo, which can carry up to 517 passengers, will be used in daily flights from Manchester to Dubai.

It has been said that the Airbus A380 is the future of flying, but many have expressed concerns based upon reliability and economy issues.

The aircraft began to experience problems even before its first flight in 2007. Enthusiasm for the superjumo is not very high with airlines and only around 25 have been delivered since it was launched.

The A380 airbus boasts a number of design enhancements that should have made it a popular choice with airlines. It is much quieter than its competitors, due to advanced wing and undercarriage design. It is also much more fuel efficient due to the use of weight saving composite materials and exhaust emissions are enormously reduced.

Both Emirates airlines and Quantas have expressed concern over the aircraft’s reliability. Quantas experienced some high profile problems when all three of their A380 aircraft were grounded and declared unserviceable due to fuel tank indicator system problems.

Many commercial airlines have suffered due to the recession. This has led to the cancellation of orders for the A380 from the likes of: Lufthansa, Virgin Airlines, Thai Airways, Fed Ex and others.

But Manchester airport have gone ahead and spent around £10 million on upgrading the airfield and terminal buildings to accommodate the super-size aircraft. Emirates airlines currently use Boeing 777 aircraft for their Manchester to Dubai service.

Tim Clark, Emirates Airline president has said: “Manchester has been one of the strongest performers in our growing network of regional gateways, not only in the UK but globally. Our customers value our commitment to a regional network at a time when other airlines are abandoning them.”

So it’s looking like this new iconic jet is set to become as much an eye-catching fixture at Manchester airport as it is at Heathrow and other busy international hubs.

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Theft Report from LAX

In these days of cut-price airlines you may think that the most important consideration when choosing an airline is price. While this is, without doubt, the top of most priority lists there are many other factors to bear in mind.

But price is, for most travelers, the most significant factor to consider. But the cheapest flight may not mean the cheapest journey. Having to travel to the airport will add to the journey costs. And if you then need to travel some distance from your arrival airport to your final destination this will add significantly to the overall cost.

Also, take into account what is included in the ticket price along with what is excluded. You will need to factor in the cost of refreshment if food and drink are excluded.

Its worth looking at how flexible your airline is with regard to departure dates and times? Tickets are always more expensive at weekends so weekday tickets would be a more economical option. Does your airline offer weekday flights at significantly lower cost than at the weekend.

Something else to consider is the airlines timekeeping performance. Statistics are generally available for most airlines so how does your proposed airline compare to others when it comes to late departures and arrivals. Your intended airline may offer cheap tickets but they may also be very poor at timekeeping.

Another aspect of your proposed airline that would bear investigation is their lost luggage statistics. Do they lose more luggage than other airlines? Losing your luggage can be enormously expensive, not to mention inconvenient, so it’s a false economy to go with a cheap airline that is notorious for losing luggage.

Its also worth finding out if an airline is guilty of over-booking. These days, over-booking is becoming increasingly common-place. Passengers turn up for their flights only to find that their isn’t a seat for them due to over-booking.

It should be clear that to choose the best airline takes time and research. The more research you can do, the more you will find out and the better informed you will be when it comes to making your selection.

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Air safety involves many aspects. First, it alludes to the idea of keeping all airlines operating correctly. Second , it relates to the issue of keeping the airplane and passengers on board safe from lunatics and terrorists.

Millions of men and women fly to destinations all around the world for business and for pleasure. Knowing the are being looked after by the airline by careful screening processes, air marshals being randomly onboard flights, and aircraft being routinely looked over, they are more willing to put their trust in the airline.

Many of us have fears about air safety, and a serious reason for that's the media. Television and newspapers always seem to spend a great deal of time covering terrorist attacks on airplanes and airplane crashes. While thousands of planes travel every day without any event, it's the few that do have a sad ending that get spotted by the public.

Contemporary situations of pilots flying airplanes while they are drunk is a different reason why some people are reluctant to fly. For the main part though pilots and other airline crew are awfully responsible and take their job seriously. They also make sure everyone on the plane is wearing a seatbelt, all overhead compartments are closed securely, and safety issues including exists and oxygen masks have been covered.

Airports need to be the beginning of the safety by ensuring all of their staff pass background probes. They also need to be trained in security when it comes to identifying suspicious individuals. Random searches take place as people go to board their planes but not everyone is searched so it is vital to look out of those who may be a threat.

Before any one boards the airplane the aeroplane should get a total walk thru both outside and inside. This is to spot any issues that have to be taken care off before the airplane being loaded and prepared for take off.

Most airlines have a schedule for when their airplanes go in for detailed inspections and routine maintenance. Only the best airplane engineers are trusted to finish such jobs. While accidents can happen in the sky, travel by airplane is much safer than getting in your car and driving on any given day.