Edinburgh to Glasgow by helicopter: Scotland's two cities, 20 minutes apart

Edinburgh to Glasgow: the numbers

Edinburgh to Glasgow by helicopter takes about 20 to 25 minutes, against at least 1 hour 4 minutes on the road.

The straight line is 36 nautical miles (41 statute miles). The road is 51 miles and 1 hour 4 minutes even when it flows freely, so the helicopter typically saves about 42 minutes each way. The M8 is busy at the edges of both cities, which is why the road time is a floor for the central belt.

Where does the helicopter earn its place?

With 20 to 25 minutes against at least 1 hour 4 minutes, Edinburgh to Glasgow is a short flight. It earns its keep as a connection: a jet lands at one airport and a meeting waits in the other city, or a team has to be in both cities within a morning. It is also useful as the central link in a longer chain, such as Newcastle to Edinburgh then Glasgow.

Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cumbernauld

Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport are both open 24 hours and both require a handling agent for every flight, including helicopters; Glasgow also asks for prior approval and a slot request for general aviation. Cumbernauld, 20.3 nautical miles from Edinburgh, has a 819 metre runway and suits helicopters and turboprops. See helicopter charter Edinburgh and helicopter charter Glasgow.

The Royal Highland Show and Murrayfield are on the Edinburgh side, and Hampden Park and the Scottish football grounds are on the Glasgow side; see Royal Highland Show and Murrayfield.

A same-day plan

1. Leave Edinburgh at 09:00, land at Glasgow between 09:20 and 09:25.
2. A working lunch in the second city.
3. Leave Glasgow at 16:00, land at Edinburgh between 16:20 and 16:25.

That is 40 minutes to 50 minutes in the air for the round trip. The same trip by car is at least 2 hours 8 minutes of driving, so the helicopter typically gives back about 1 hour 23 minutes across the day. Using Cumbernauld cuts the road leg at the Glasgow end for a city-centre meeting. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.

Connecting with Prestwick, Dundee and Perth

The two cities are the middle of a chain of airfields. Prestwick, 22.8 nautical miles from Glasgow, suits jets and serves Ayr Racecourse; see Prestwick. Perth and Dundee, 29 and 32 nautical miles from Edinburgh, serve the golf and the east; see Perth and Dundee. For a car at either end, Executive Global Travel can help.

Where the figures come from

For Edinburgh to Glasgow the straight-line distance is 36 nautical miles. At a cruise of 135 knots that is about 16 minutes; we add 8 minutes for start-up, climb and the approach, which gives a block time of about 24 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.