Landing at Glasgow Airport

What GLA is like

Glasgow is the main airport on Scotland's west side and the starting point for anyone driving up into the western Highlands or catching a ferry out to the islands. The terminal is modest, the layout easy, and you are outside quickly. The thing to know before you arrive is that there is no railway station at the airport, so getting into the city is a question of the express bus, a taxi, or a hire car. That is a real difference from Edinburgh, where a tram waits at the door.

On arrival

Switch the data line on at touchdown, because here the travel decision arrives the moment you step out of the hall. The border sits close to the gates and domestic flights skip it entirely. After the belt, the exits lead to the bus stands and the taxi rank in front of the building, outdoors and often under the fine rain the west of Scotland is known for. If you are collecting a hire car, open the booking before you leave the terminal, since the desk and the car park may be separate places that you reach by following signs.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

Terminal Wi-Fi is free after a short sign-in and fine for ordinary tasks while you wait. The awkwardness is that everybody has to go outside to catch something, so the moment you actually want a connection is the moment you are standing beyond its range. The bus stands are in the open air, and the bus itself is not airport network. If you are driving west or north afterwards, the useful thing to do inside is save the maps for that route, because once you are out past the city, coverage disappears for genuinely long stretches.

Getting into town

The express bus from in front of the terminal reaches central Glasgow in roughly twenty to thirty minutes depending on traffic, ending near the city's main railway station, from which Edinburgh and other towns are easy. A taxi is a little quicker and makes more sense with several people. A hire car is the choice of anyone who came for the lochs and the west coast in the first place. The ride in costs little in data, but if you drive on, navigation takes much more and needs to stay continuous. Travellers using Scotland as one leg of a wider European trip should arrange coverage for the countries they will cross into before leaving, not at the moment they cross.

What people ask about this airport

• No railway at the airport — Plan to leave by express bus, taxi or hire car; do not expect a platform behind the arrivals hall as at some airports.
• Save maps before leaving the city — Routes to the lochs and the west coast include long gaps, so download the whole corridor while you are still at the airport.
• Fine rain is normal here — The stands are outdoors, so pack away anything that should not get wet before you step outside.