There are a number of airports referred to as ‘London airports’, although most are not actually in the city, but arguably the strangest of all is Lydd Airport. Despite the name, the airport known as London Ashford Airport is closer to France than to the capital.

The airport is 76 miles from central London, with the fastest journey taking two hours and five minutes. The airport is owned by London Ashford Airport Ltd, which may explain why it has London in its name.

Lydd opened in 1954 and for a time there were daily services to Le Touquet and Ostend. In 1958 a total of almost 223,000 passengers passed through the airport, almost 37,000 more than Gatwick.

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In the early 1970s, the introduction of the Hovercraft and roll-on-roll-off ferries led to a decline in air ferry services from Lydd, although other passenger and freight operations continued. Today the airport, which has benefited from substantial investment by the new owner, is served by a healthy mix of private and training general aviation, corporate jets, air taxis, cargo and maintenance.

Another airport that makes use of the London name without being in the city is London Oxford Airport. The airport was renamed to include London in its name in 2009, with locals at the time saying it was an “insult” to Oxford.

In fact, there are only two airports in London, which are Heathrow Airport and London City Airport. The latter is located at Royal Docks in Newham, while Heathrow is located in Hillingdon and has a Twickenham postcode.

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