Little Chalfont to London City Airport Taxi

Across town, not round it: Little Chalfont to the Royal Docks

London City is the odd one out from this village, because the answer is not the M25. The airport sits in the Royal Docks in east London, and the practical line from HP7 runs south on the A413, through Amersham, Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter down to Denham, where the M40 finishes at junction 1 and the A40 takes over. From there it is the A40 Western Avenue east as far as the Hanger Lane gyratory, where the A406 North Circular crosses, and then either round the North Circular or onward through town depending on the hour, before the same last stretch either way: follow the signs for London City Airport from the A13 and into the docks. Two things about this journey are worth knowing before you book. The airport lies inside the London-wide ULEZ, so the vehicle sent matters, and its forecourt has the tightest maximum stay of the five airports we serve, which makes the drop-off a genuine set-down rather than a leisurely farewell. Coming in from the west you need none of the river crossings, so the Blackwall and Silvertown tolls do not enter into it at all.

Around 70–95 minutes each way makes this a business route almost exclusively. London City runs a short-haul European timetable built around the City and Canary Wharf, and the passengers going from here are the ones with a morning meeting on the continent and every intention of sleeping at home that night. The return leg tends to matter more than the outbound, because the late arrivals land after the point where the Metropolitan line back to Chalfont & Latimer is any kind of pleasure with a laptop bag in hand. We collect from the St George's Industrial Estate end of White Lion Road as readily as from a driveway, and we take the outbound and the return together so the car is already allocated for the evening. For anyone making the trip two or three times a month, an executive car booked in advance is the normal arrangement, and it can run alongside the everyday village taxi work on the same account.

Can I get to London City from Little Chalfont on the Tube?

Yes, but it is a long chain. Metropolitan line trains from Chalfont & Latimer run to Baker Street, where you change to the Jubilee line for Canning Town. From Canning Town the DLR runs to London City Airport station. That is three trains and two changes, with luggage, before you reach the terminal.

If you take a car, it matters less where the charging zones start. London City is in Newham, inside the London-wide ULEZ, and outside the central Congestion Charge zone. The Congestion Charge runs 7am to 6pm on weekdays and noon to 6pm at weekends and on bank holidays, so a route kept clear of central London avoids it.

The airport lies about three miles east of Canary Wharf, which is why it suits meetings in Docklands and the City as well as flights. If you travel for work often, a Little Chalfont corporate account keeps every trip on one invoice, and our comparison of executive cars and ordinary taxis explains the difference in comfort.