Sometimes you know which city you want to go to but don’t know how to get there. Wikipedia is a fantastic tool that helps you understand which airlines fly into an airport and where they are coming from. This is a great tool in the early stages of planning a trip.
It can also be useful to be able to see all the direct flights from an airport when planning a trip, such as when trying to minimise connections or sequence the cities you visit to avoid backtracking.
Where a city has multiple airports, you may also want to arrive or depart from the one with easiest transport options. The classic here is London City Airport (LCY), which is a short DLR ride away from the City of London.
However, it’s not that easy to find all the direct flights from a specific airport:
- Airlines will only show the flights that they or their partners operate on their website
- Google Flights is great at showing fares between city pairs, but doesn’t filter for destinations with direct flights only
- Not all airport websites provide Arrival and Departure information
Here is where the Wikipedia pages for individual airports come to the rescue. Each airport page will have an Airlines and destinations section listing all direct flights by airline:
Itinerary Sequencing
I’m planning on visiting Seville and Granada (to see The Alhambra) in the south of Spain next year and then fly into London, with a preference for arriving at London City Airport (LCY).
There are direct flights from Granada (GRX) so it would make sense to visit Seville first (as the flights into London land at Gatwick) and then finish in Granada.
Booking Awards
Wikipedia Airports is also super helpful when trying to piece together an award itinerary.
Since the majority of Qantas Frequent Flyers are based in Australia, the most challenging part of the booking is that first flight out of Australia.
Most people will do a search from Sydney to London and be discouraged when there are no flights showing as available.
Searching sector by sector will help you find more award seats via key Asian hubs like Singapore (SIN), Hong Kong (HKG) and Tokyo (NRT/HND).
Tip: Check all the airports in your destination city. Many cities have multiple airports. Milan has Linate (easy access to the city) and Malpensa (closer to Lake Como than Milan).
What’s your favourite “alternate” airport?
