Helpful airport transfer information from Airports Taxi UK, with private booking support for journeys across the UK.
London City Airport doesn’t get talked about much from Chelmsford, which is a bit of a shame because it’s actually your closest proper London airport — about 32 miles down the A12, roughly 50-65 minutes. It’s smaller, quieter, and mostly serves business routes and a handful of European cities, but for the right flight it’s a genuinely easy option.
50-65 minutes in normal traffic, straight down the A12 and onto the A406/A13 towards the Docklands. It’s a more built-up drive than the Stansted or Southend runs — you’re heading into east London rather than out into the Essex countryside — but it’s rarely as congested as a run into Heathrow or Gatwick.
| Pickup area | Distance | Drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Chelmsford city centre | 32 miles | 50-65 min |
| Great Baddow | 34 miles | 55-70 min |
| Springfield | 33 miles | 50-65 min |
It’s a small airport, which means less walking, faster security in general, and a much calmer experience than the bigger hubs. If your route happens to fly from City — a fair few business and short-haul European flights do — it’s genuinely one of the more pleasant airport experiences going, and being the closest London airport to Chelmsford is a real advantage most people don’t realise until they’ve tried it.
There’s a route via London involving a change onto the DLR, which works fine for a solo traveller without much luggage — but with cases, or travelling as a family, the taxi tends to be the easier call, especially for early or late flights when the DLR’s running less frequently.
Sitting closer to the shorter end of our fare range, priced by pickup area and vehicle size as usual, fixed at booking. A standard saloon covers most trips; if you’re carrying more for a longer stay, an estate gives you the extra room.
City’s popular with business flyers for a reason — it’s quick in and quick out. If you’re doing this run regularly for work, a fixed-fare account arrangement keeps costs predictable rather than dealing with surge pricing on every trip, and knowing exactly what a journey costs makes expensing it a lot simpler too.
Yes, slightly — City tends to run a touch quicker on drive time, though both are genuinely convenient options depending on where you’re flying.
Generally no — it’s one of the quicker airports to get through, which is part of its appeal for short business trips.
Yes, with flight monitoring so the pickup adjusts to your actual landing time.
Fixed fare, straight down the A12. See our Chelmsford taxi page for every other airport route too.
