International Travel
Included below is information on how to get to Glasgow from several major UK airports. These are ordered by simplicity.
In the summer season, Edinburgh Airport has several direct flights from major North American hubs. This may be a more convenient option than a connecting flight to reach Glasgow airport.
Glasgow and Edinburgh airports should be strongly preferred. However, Manchester and Heathrow are detailed below should flights to Glasgow and Edinburgh be problematic due to cost/connection timings from your origin.
Glasgow Airport
Glasgow airport is served by regular connections from all major European hubs. Direct flights from a range of smaller European airports are also available.
Direct intercontinental service to Glasgow is relatively limited. However, direct flights to Newark and Toronto in North America, as well as Dubai in Asia, are available.
Glasgow airport is connected to the city centre by a frequent bus service., the 500 Airport Express service, which operates 24/7 with a roughly 10 minute frequency. Journey times of ~15 minutes and a single ticket is £11. Alternatively, a return (with a validity of 28 days) is available for £17.50. Tickets can be purchased onboard using cash or card or online in advance here.
Alternatively, a taxi from Glasgow airport to the city centre or west end will cost £20-30.
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh is Scotland's busiest airport and similar to Glasgow, offers regular connections to major European hubs. Edinburgh is also served by an even broader range of direct flights to European airports.
Unlike Glasgow, Edinburgh also has a range of direct intercontinental flights available, particularly from North America. In Summer, Edinburgh has direct flights from major hubs in the USA such as JFK, Newark, Dulles, Chicago and Atlanta. Direct flights from Toronto and Calgary are also available. Direct service to Asia is limited to Beijing and Dubai. Due to the range of options available, we would recommend that those travelling from North America consider flights to Edinburgh if available.
Edinburgh airport is situated less than 70km from Glasgow city centre and a direct bus connection is available.
The CityLink bus service connects Edinburgh airport to Glasgow city centre. Buses run every ~20 minutes during the day until 21:15 and hourly through the night and early morning. Journey times of ~1 hour and tickets are roughly £15 each way and can be purchased directly on the bus as well as online.
Alternatively, a taxi will be £60-100 with a similar travel time should this be preferable.
Manchester Airport
Manchester airport is the busiest international airport in the UK outside of the London area. As with Edinburgh, a range of connections to European and North American hubs are available. Manchester also offers a broader range of direct connections to destinations in Asia such as Delhi, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai amongst others.
Manchester airport has its own railway station which offers direct service to Glasgow Central station. Direct service run roughly every two hours and take just over three and a half hours. Connecting services are also available and will take slightly longer. Book tickets for this route directly with the train operator here.
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow is the UK's busiest international hub. Heathrow has direct service to major international hubs on every inhabited continent.
If you are not getting a connecting flight from Heathrow to Glasgow, the easiest option is to take the train. Long distance trains to Glasgow depart from London Euston in central Euston. The cheapest, and likely most convenient way, to get to Euston is to take the Piccadilly line tube to Green Park. Change to the Victoria line and continue to Euston. Total journey time of roughly 1 hour.
Direct trains to Glasgow central depart hourly with journey times of just under five hours. If you book a ticket for a specific train, ensure you leave adequate time to reach Euston from Heathrow. Book tickets for this route directly with the train operator here.
UK Travel
Glasgow is well connected to the rest of the UK by train. Most intercity services to Glasgow from England will arrive/depart at Glasgow Central station. To reach the University from Glasgow Central, the nearby St.Enoch Subway station is the easiest option (see local travel).
Glasgow Queen Street station serves a range of destinations in Scotland, as well as a limited selection of Intercity services to England. Buchannan Street Subway station is adjacent to Queen Street.
Glasgow is well connected to the UK motorway network. However, due to the likely difficulty in finding parking near the University, driving is not recommended.
