Cheap flights from London to the Shetland Islands

School holidays and Christmas are the first things that lift fares, since flights across the UK are in demand when families travel, and the islands' summer, with its long northern evenings, is the season many visitors aim for. April comes out cheapest in the price data, and the calendar covers October through September, so you can watch fares move from one month to the next. Prices can also shift with the day of the week, so check a midweek date against a weekend one. Once you have a month in mind, compare a spread of dates rather than a single day, since fares rarely sit still for long.

What a fare includes varies more than the headline price suggests. Easyjet runs the low-cost model, so hold luggage, a bigger cabin bag and picking your seat come as paid extras, while British Airways, BA CityFlyer, Aer Lingus and Loganair Limited work closer to the full-service pattern, with more bundled into the ticket. None of them flies the route nonstop, so every itinerary involves a change, and where that change falls differs by carrier. Check the allowance for both legs and the total with bags added, since the cheapest-looking headline can change once the extras are in.

Sort out the last stretch of the journey before you land. Sumburgh is the islands' only airport, and it stands a drive away from the main town, so decide in advance how you will cover that distance: hire car, taxi or the local bus. The terminal is compact and the onward options are fewer than at a big city airport, so look up the bus timetable before you fly and reserve a hire car early if you want one. When a fare looks right, also confirm that its final leg really ends at Sumburgh.

Currency

GBP (£)

Power sockets

Type G · 230 V

Language

English

Emergency number

112, 999

Calling code

+44

Internet domain

.uk

Population of Shetland Islands

23 k (2012)

Time zone

UTC+01 (Europe/London)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check whether the whole trip sits on one ticket, because on separate tickets a missed connection is yours to fix.
• Leave a generous gap between the two flights, and see what protection you have if the first leg runs late.
• Easyjet charges extra for hold and larger cabin bags, so price baggage into the total before you compare.
• Departures leave Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Luton or Stansted, so check which airport your fare uses.
• The whole journey stays inside the United Kingdom, so no visa questions arise, but check the photo ID each carrier accepts on domestic flights.
• April is the cheapest month in the data, so start there if your dates are flexible and compare outwards.