London to Southampton by helicopter: the south coast in half an hour

London to Southampton: the numbers

London to Southampton by helicopter takes about 30 to 35 minutes, against at least 1 hour 39 minutes on the road.

The straight line is 54.2 nautical miles (62 statute miles). The road is 81 miles and 1 hour 39 minutes even when it flows freely, so the helicopter typically saves about 1 hour 7 minutes each way. The M3 and the M27 are usually the slow parts of the road time, which is why the saving is bigger on a bad day than on a good one.

Southampton Airport and the Solent alternative

Southampton Airport has a 1,887 metre runway and is open Monday to Saturday from 06:30 to 22:00 and Sunday from 07:30 to 22:00, with a prior-permission extension to 23:00. Self-handling is not permitted, so every flight has an appointed handling agent, which we book. Solent Airport at Lee-on-Solent, 10 nautical miles away, is a quieter option closer to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. See helicopter charter Southampton and Hampshire for both.

Why people fly to the Solent

Southampton is a cruise and cargo port, the base for a marine and boat-building cluster, and the departure point for the Isle of Wight. Executives joining a ship, attending the autumn boat show or visiting a marine business often use the helicopter to arrive from London in a way the M3 will not allow. Cowes is a short hop across the water; see Cowes Week and the Isle of Wight. Goodwood, 17 nautical miles from Solent Airport, hosts the Revival in September.

Our same-day business trips page explains the there-and-back pattern, and Bristol to Southampton covers the west.

A same-day plan

1. Leave London at 09:00, land at Southampton between 09:30 and 09:35.
2. Meetings, lunch or a ship visit.
3. Leave Southampton at 16:30, land at London between 17:00 and 17:05.

That is 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes in the air for the round trip. The same trip by car is at least 3 hours 18 minutes of driving, so the helicopter typically gives back about 2 hours 13 minutes across the day. Southampton Airport closes at 22:00, so even a late return is workable. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.

Connecting with a ship or a jet

Cruise passengers arriving from a long-haul flight can use a helicopter from Heathrow or Gatwick instead of the road; see airport transfers by helicopter. A car meets the aircraft at the airport and takes you to the terminal. Executive Global Travel can arrange that. For a jet leg onward, see Charter-Private-Jet.com.

Where the figures come from

For London to Southampton the straight-line distance is 54.2 nautical miles. At a cruise of 135 knots that is about 24 minutes; we add 8 minutes for start-up, climb and the approach, which gives a block time of about 32 minutes, and we show it as a range, 10 per cent shorter to 12 per cent longer, rounded to the nearest five minutes. The road figure is the free-flowing time from a routing engine, so it is a floor. Real journeys on the day are usually slower. The other routes are on the UK helicopter routes page, and helicopter against car journey times explains the comparison.