Stansted to Glasgow flights: airlines, times and fares

Two airlines fly Stansted to Glasgow direct: Ryanair and easyJet. Both are short-haul, hand-luggage-first carriers, and Ryanair, Stansted's largest airline, added more Glasgow flights in 2026, which widened the choice of departure times. As on the other Scottish routes, Ryanair usually sets the lowest fare and easyJet runs a competitive daytime schedule, so the difference between them tends to be price, bag rules and timing rather than the flight itself.

No full-service carrier flies Stansted to Glasgow. British Airways serves London to Glasgow from Heathrow and Gatwick, and other carriers fly it from Luton and City, so if you specifically want a free hold bag and an allocated seat in the fare, those airports are worth a look. From Stansted, the choice is Ryanair against easyJet, and the airlines at Stansted page sets out what each one includes.

Glasgow runs at roughly 3 to 4 flights a day between the two airlines, somewhere around 20 to 30 a week depending on the season and the source. The first departures leave early, near 05:55, and the last go in the evening around 22:40, so you can usually find a slot to suit an early arrival or a late return. It is a thinner schedule than Edinburgh, but still frequent enough that a missed flight is not a long wait.

The count moves with the seasons and with how Ryanair and easyJet split the route, so treat it as a guide rather than a timetable. To see what is flying on your date, check the live departures board or the airline directly, and confirm the exact times when you book rather than assuming last season's schedule still runs.

The flight takes about 1 hour 20 minutes on the published schedule, gate to gate. The airport's own Glasgow page quotes a flight time of 1 hour 5 minutes, which is nearer the airborne time; the booked block usually allows more for taxiing, departure queues and holding. The straight-line distance is around 350 miles, a little further than Edinburgh.

As always, the air time is the smallest part of the day. Set against it are the trip out to Stansted, the airport's recommended two-hour security buffer, and the bus from Glasgow Airport into the city at the far end. That door-to-door total is what decides the fly-or-train question below, not the time in the air.

One-way fares start at roughly £16 when you book ahead, with Ryanair usually the cheapest and easyJet close behind. On quiet midweek dates a return can come in under £40. These are lead-in fares: they climb as the flight fills, and booking around four weeks out tends to beat a last-minute price by a wide margin on this route.

Both carriers are low-cost, so the headline fare rarely includes a cabin bag larger than the free personal item, a checked bag or a chosen seat. Each of those is extra and can double a cheap fare, so compare the all-in cost between Ryanair and easyJet rather than the screen price, and book directly with the airline. The fares quoted here are indicative, so check the live price on the airline's own site before you commit.

For Glasgow, as for Edinburgh, the flight is not always the faster choice once you count the whole day. The Avanti West Coast train from London Euston reaches Glasgow Central in about 4 hours 30 minutes at its fastest, runs roughly hourly, and sets you down in the city centre with no security queue. The flight wins easily in the air, but the door-to-door comparison is much closer.

Glasgow makes the train case stronger than most, because Glasgow Airport has no rail link, so you finish with a bus or taxi into town rather than a quick rail hop. Add the journey to Stansted, the two-hour buffer and that final leg, and the train from central London can be comparable on time and often simpler. Fly if you live near Stansted or the fare is very low; take the train if you start central or are carrying luggage. If Stansted is your base, the wider route map shows where else the airport flies.

Glasgow is a domestic UK flight, so there is no passport control either way, but you still need valid photo identification to board, and Ryanair and easyJet each set their own accepted documents. Be at security at least two hours before departure, the airport's own recommendation, and allow more for the early-morning Glasgow departures. Your gate and satellite show on the departures board and vary by flight: most gates are reached by the airside transit, while Satellite 3 is a walk of around 15 minutes, so check the board and leave time.

At the Glasgow end, the airport has no train or tram, so the usual route into the city is the Glasgow Airport Express bus, service 500, every 10 to 15 minutes and about 15 to 25 minutes to the centre and Buchanan Bus Station. For the trip to Stansted itself, the flight information hub links the live boards, check-in and the pre-flight detail.