If you’re travelling from one of the UK’s major airports, then planning your pre-flight meal has just become a whole lot easier. Browse below to find a guide to eating – and parking – at your chosen airport.
Save time and cut stress on departure day by picking your table and meal before you set off… leaving more time for duty free shopping and relaxation before you fly.
The APH airport restaurant finder…
Simply use the dropdown menu below and go straight to your departure airport – and a full list of restaurants.
Please choose your airport
Heathrow Airport
Gatwick Airport
Manchester Airport
Birmingham Airport
Stansted Airport
Luton Airport
East Midlands Airport
Aberdeen Airport
Bristol Airport
Doncaster Airport
Durham Tees Valley Airport
Edinburgh Airport
Exeter Airport
Glasgow Airport
Leeds Bradford Airport
Liverpool Airport
Newcastle Airport
Bournemouth Airport
Southampton Airport
Cardiff Airport
London City Airport
Southend Airport
Prestwick Airport
Don’t be rushed into choosing your pre-flight restaurant… browse at your leisure here
Heathrow Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Heathrow Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
Choose your terminal then click the link to see what’s on offer for hungry travellers
Gatwick Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Gatwick Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to the top eateries at the North and South Terminals.
Top six food picks at Gatwick Airport
Manchester Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Manchester Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for hungry travellers departing from Manchester Airport.
Birmingham Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Birmingham Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Birmingham Airport.
Birmingham Airport restaurants
East Midlands Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through East Midlands Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from East Midlands Airport.
East Midlands Airport restaurants
Newcastle
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Newcastle Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Newcastle Airport.
Newcastle Airport restaurants
Luton Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Luton Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Luton Airport.
Luton Airport restaurants
Stansted Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Stansted Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Stansted Airport.
Stansted Airport restaurants
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Liverpool Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport restaurants
Edinburgh Airport
Use the following links to help plan your trip through Edinburgh Airport…
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Edinburgh Airport.
Edinburgh Airport restaurants
Glasgow Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Glasgow Airport.
Glasgow Airport restaurants
Bournemouth Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Bournemouth Airport.
Bournemouth Airport restaurants
Bristol Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Bristol Airport.
Bristol Airport restaurants
Cardiff Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Cardiff Airport.
Cardiff Airport restaurants
Exeter Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Exeter Airport.
Exeter Airport restaurants
Leeds Bradford Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Leeds Bradford Airport.
Leeds Bradford Airport restaurants
London City Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from London City Airport.
London City Airport restaurants
Prestwick Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Prestwick Airport.
Prestwick restaurants
Doncaster Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Doncaster Airport.
Doncaster Airport restaurants
Durham Tees Valley Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Durham Tees Valley Airport.
Durham Tees Valley Airport restaurants
Aberdeen Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Aberdeen Airport.
Aberdeen Airport restaurants
Southampton Port
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Southampton Airport.
Southampton Airport restaurants
Southend Airport
Airport parking:
Click here to book your airport parking right here.
Restaurants:
See our guide to what’s on offer for passengers flying from Southend Airport.
Southend Airport restaurants
The perfect food for flying…
Using our guide, you’re sure to get a great meal at UK airports, but what you eat in the air or in the days leading up to your flight is just as important. Airline meals have improved in recent years, but following our in-flight eating tips will help you arrive at your destination looking great, feeling fresh and ready to go.
The perfect food for flying…
Using our guide, you’re sure to get a great meal at UK airports, but what you eat in the air is just as important – especially for those on long-haul flights. Airline meals have improved in recent years, but following our in-flight eating tips will help you arrive feeling fresh and ready to go.
Water: Humans feel most comfortable when humidity is around 40-70%, but on many aircraft this will dip as low as 12%. This can break down mucus barriers in our nose and throat making us more susceptible to any bugs you come into contact with. Taking fresh, clean water on the flight will help keep your defences in place. You might be sent to the loo more often, but this will simply help keep you mobile and fight the risk of DVT.
Don’t eat green vegetables: Going on holiday usually involves a straight swap between healthy green vegetables and week-long orgy of pasta and chips. Nothing wrong with that, but trying to counter this with a pre-flight tum-trimming frenzy of eating nothing but waist-squeezing greens could seriously damage your health. If you’re one of the thousands of people using blood-thinning medications such as warfarin, bombarding your body with greens such as cabbage, spinach and broccoli will create a huge spike in vitamin k. This will make the warfarin ineffective and could result in a dangerously low INR reading (the measure of how long your blood takes to clot) – leaving you dangerously prone to a killer DVT. So, if you’re using a blood thinner, don’t be tempted to boost your diet by eating extra greens.
Chewing gum and sweets: Air pressure at cruising height is much lower than you’d find at sea level. This can cause the amount of oxygen in your blood to fall – resulting in a mild form of hypoxia, which can leave you feeling listless, dizzy and faint. Low pressure can also affect your ears and make them painful – especially for kids. Recent research suggests that chewing gum can improve memory and alertness by sending more oxygen and nutrients to the brain. So, if you’re finding it hard to concentrate on the scintillating in-flight movie, you might want to get chewing. Additionally, we all know that sucking a boiled sweet will help ‘pop’ your ears.
Don’t eat baked beans: They might look tempting as you tuck into your pre-flight full-English breakfast, but baked beans will make for an uncomfortable flight – for you and the passenger sitting alongside you. Reduced air pressure in planes can cause gases in the digestive system to swell by a third – resulting in bloating that cause aches and discomfort. You know your body better than anyone, so make sure you avoid the foods that fill you with gas.
Meal times: Long-haul travellers will have to deal with jet lag and all the problems it brings. Getting your body’s digestive system in time with that of your destination will help minimise fatigue and the possibility of developing constipation on the flight. In the week before you travel, gradually move your mealtimes closer to those of where you’re heading.
Oily fish: If you want a fresh, healthy complexion as you step from the plane, then scoffing plenty of oily fish such as salmon and mackerel in the week before you fly will help achieve this goal, according to skin therapist Louise Thomas-Minns (uandyourskin.co.uk). If a smoky dead fish doesn’t float your trawler, opt for walnuts and fruits such as Kiwis.
Don’t rock the salt – go pepper instead: Airline meals used to be heavily salted, but health-savvy travellers have forced providers to look at other ways of creating tasty meals – without having to resort to a Sodium Chloride overload. However, travelling at 27,000 feet results in humans losing around 30% of their taste sensations – which could prompt you to add more salt that normal in an attempt to compensate for the loss of flavour. This will merely result in damaging dehydration and uncomfortable bloating. If you need some seasoning, choose the pepper sachet instead.
Why you should eat before you fly…
Choose a spicy airline meal to give your tastebuds a helping hand
Grabbing some grub before you fly really does make sense, according to boffins. Here we reveal why taking your seat on a plane means you’ll be leaving your tastebuds behind.
Why can’t airlines just provide tasty meals? The short answer is – they probably do. It’s your sense of taste that should take the blame for the dour-tasting dishes you’re served. Flavour is derived from your tastebuds and sense of smell; both of which start to fail as the plane heads to its cruising height. This will hit your perception of saltiness and sweetness and leave perfectly edible food tasting decidedly bland.
The in-flight combination of dryness and low pressure can cut your tastebuds’ sensitivity to sweet and salty foods by around 30%, according to a 2010 study carried out for German airline Lufthansa. This is why airline caterers have to give their grub a boost by packing it with extra salt and sugar. This can leave you feeling dehydrated, bloated and sleepy after the rush subsides and your body ‘crashes’. Certainly not a great way to start your hols. Make sure you drink plenty of water and avoid eating desserts in order to help reduce sugar intake.
In-flight food tips: While our ability to recognise salty and sweet flavours plummets as we soar, our capacity to decipher sour, bitter and spicy flavours is left virtually unaffected. So, go for the spicy curry option and citrus dessert next time you’re choosing an airline meal. Other altitude-friendly foods include those made with mushrooms, tomatoes and soy sauce.
Don’t whine about the wine: While a good wine tastes terrific on terra firma, there’s a good chance it could become expensive vinegar in the air. If you do want to imbibe, choose a variety that’s fruity with low acid and tannin. Top tip here – Champagne is high in acid, so don’t go wasting your cash on grand gestures that might well fall flat.