What Are The Differences Between Glasgow’s Two Airports?

Readers familiar with the world of commercial air travel in Scotland will likely be aware that the country’s most populous city, Glasgow, is served by two different airports. The larger of these two facilities is known simply as Glasgow Airport (GLA), while the city is also served by the smaller and more distant Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK). But how exactly do these two hubs differ? Let’s find out.

Location and ground transport options

Let’s start by establishing where exactly Glasgow’s two airports are situated relative to the city itself. As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Prestwick is the more distant of the two, and lies approximately 50 km (31 miles) away from Glasgow Central Station by road. Meanwhile, Glasgow Airport is located a mere 14.5 km (9 miles) from the city center’s rail hub, making it more convenient in this sense.

Photo: lennystan | Shutterstock

In terms of ground transportation options, Prestwick is a rarity among Scottish airports for passengers who want to travel onwards into the city of Glasgow by public transit. Specifically, it is one of just a handful in the country to have its own onsite railway station. Situated on the Ayrshire Coast Line, the journey time to Glasgow Central is typically just over 50 minutes, with intermediate stops including:

• Troon
• Barassie
• Irvine
• Kilwinning
• Johnstone
• Paisley Gilmour Street

Meanwhile, while Glasgow Airport is the larger and more conveniently located facility, it does not have its own railway station, so public transport users must take the bus into the city. This can take just 15 minutes on services that run directly along the M8 motorway. On-and-off talks regarding a dedicated rail link to the airport have also been a staple of 21st-century infrastructure discourse in Scotland.

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Photo: Julian Worker | Shutterstock

While the number 500′ Airport Express’ service, as pictured above, is the quickest and most direct way from Glasgow Airport into the city center, this is far from the only bus route serving the facility. Indeed, according to the airport’s website, destinations as far afield as Oban, Lock Lomond, Fort William, and Skye can also be reached with Citylink coaches, as well as Paisley via the McGill’s 757 route.

Prestwick serves as something of a low-cost hub

Glasgow’s two airports also differ in the markets that they serve. Owing to its more distant location, Prestwick is well-suited to being a low-cost hub for the city, and indeed the wider area as a whole, as the use of such facilities generally comes at a lower price for budget carriers. Today, it is a focus city for Ryanair, which operates year-round and seasonal services to European leisure-based destinations.

Photo: Rodney Hutchinson | Shutterstock

According to present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the Irish low-cost carrier is the only airline with scheduled passenger services to and from Prestwick this year. Indeed, the site shows that, in 2024, Ryanair is responsible for all 3,116 of the airport’s flights, offering 591,072 seats and 852,365,348 available seat miles (ASMs) in the process. Its top destinations include:

• Tenerife South (TFS).
• Alicante(ALC).
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI).

More variety closer to the city

Meanwhile, Glasgow Airport itself attracts a considerably wider range of airline models than its more distant counterpart. While low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet do have a presence there, you can also find long-haul airlines like Air Transat and Emirates there. Glasgow Airport is also a key base for local carrier Loganair, which operates regional services to and from various Scottish islands.

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According to Cirium’s data, 66,240 commercial services are scheduled to fly to and from Glasgow Airport this year, offering collective grand totals of 9,878,598 seats and 8,906,622,370 ASMs. As pictured above, easyJet is the facility’s largest carrier by flights operated, with 19,752 scheduled in 2024. Other big hitters include British Airways and Loganair (both over 10,000), and the likes of:

• Jet2 – 7,878 flights offering 1,488,942 seats and 2,444,582,700 ASMs.
• Aer Lingus – 4,166 flights offering 315,093 seats and 50,252,472 ASMs.
• TUI – 3,365 flights offering 675,990 seats and 1,354,008,207 ASMs.

Famous visitors

Regardless of their differences, both airports have had some notable visitors over the years. For example, as pictured above, Emirates has deployed the Airbus A380 to Glasgow Airport on a handful of occasions, such as in 2014 and 2024, to mark 10 and 20 years of Dubai-Glasgow services by the airline. In May 2019, it used the A380 for several weeks on its DXB-GLA flights before returning in 2023.

Meanwhile, as pictured in the X post embedded above, Prestwick Airport was once known as the only place in the UK where Elvis Presley ever set foot. This happened when he made a stopover while traveling home on a US Air Force plane after a deployment in Germany. Former US President Donald Trump also had a partnership with the airport, owing to its proximity to his Turnberry golf resort.

Have you ever flown to or from either of Glasgow’s airports? If both, which do you prefer? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!