World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Glasgow International Airport (GLA)
Tel: (0870) 040 0008.
Website: www.baa.co.uk

The airport is located 13km (8 miles) to the west of the city centre. Glasgow International is Scotland’s busiest airport and the fourth busiest in the UK, with over eight million passengers per year, flying to 76 scheduled and 60 charter destinations.

Airport facilities: These include bureaux de change, ATMs, left luggage, shops, duty-free shops, buffet, bar, cafés, restaurants, tourist information and baby-care rooms. Wheelchairs, toilets and telephones for the disabled are also available. Car hire companies that are represented include Alamo, Avis, Europcar, Budget and National.

Transport to the city: There are rail connections (see Getting There By Rail) to Glasgow Central station from Paisley Gilmour Street station, which is 3km (2 miles) from the airport. There are trains every day (journey time – 11-15 minutes). Paisley Gilmour Street station is linked to the airport by bus no. 60 (see Public Transport in Getting Around), and bus no. 300.

The M8 motorway links the airport with the city. Bus no. 905 is provided by Citylink and Fairline Coaches – branded Glasgow Airport Link (tel: (08705) 505 050; website: www.citylink.co.uk). The buses drop passengers off at various stops, including the rail and bus station, on its journey to Glasgow’s city centre (journey time – approximately 20 minutes).

Metered taxis are available 24 hours a day from the front of the main terminal building (journey time – 20 minutes). Cab Fly (tel: (0141) 848 4588) is the taxi management company for the airport. The fare from the airport to the city centre is about £16-17.

Traveline (tel: (0870) 608 2608; website: www.traveline.org.uk) provides information on all public transport.

Glasgow Prestwick International Airport (PIK)
Tel: (01292) 511 000 or (0871) 223 0700.
Website: www.gpia.co.uk

Billing itself as ‘Scotland’s Independent Airport’, Prestwick International is located on the coast, 52km (32 miles) to the southwest of Glasgow, offering limited scheduled services as well as charter flights.

Airport facilities: Facilities include a tax- and duty-free shop, bureau de change, newsagent, gift shop, left luggage, cafés and bars. Car hire is provided by Avis, Europcar, Hertz and National.

Transport to the city: Prestwick Airport has its own railway station, connected to the airport by a covered walkway. ScotRail (tel: (08457) 550 033; website: www.firstscotrail.co.uk) operates a service with trains departing for Glasgow Central station regularly. For travel last thing at night, when public transport is not running, the airport bus X99 runs to Glasgow and the X100 to Edinburgh. Pre book on the airport’s website.

The A77 (which becomes the M77) is the main road route to the city (journey time – 40 minutes). A coach service is provided by Stagecoach West (tel: (01292) 613 700 or (0141) 552 4961; website: www.stagecoachbus.co.uk), with buses running regularly. The hourly X77 Express Service runs Monday-Saturday (no service on Sunday) (journey time – 50 minutes). The 4 Airbus runs regularly every day (journey time – 1 hour 30 minutes) to Buchanan Street Station.

Passengers of certain airlines flying from Prestwick International Airport are entitled to a 50% reduction in their ScotRail or Stagecoach fares to the airport from anywhere in Scotland.

Taxis are available from Black Cabs (tel: (01292) 471 600) for the half-hour journey to Glasgow’s city centre.

Approximate flight times to Glasgow: From London is 1 hour 15 minutes; from New York is 6 hours 50 minutes; from Los Angeles is 11 hours 40 minutes; from Toronto is 6 hours 40 minutes and from Sydney is 23 hours 5 minutes.