WTM London 2026 runs Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 November at ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, E16 1XL. MILE5 collects delegates inside the terminal at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City and drives them to ExCeL or their hotel for a fixed price: Heathrow to the Canary Wharf hotels from £164, Gatwick straight to ExCeL from £222, London City to Canary Wharf from £70, all in a Mercedes E-Class with flight tracking and 60 minutes of free waiting.
MILE5 Limited is a TfL-licensed private hire operator (licence 009161) providing fixed-price Mercedes chauffeur airport transfers across London, with 15+ years and 50,000+ transfers completed. The office is two minutes from Heathrow on Bath Road. This guide covers the 2026 edition: the dates, how far ExCeL is from each airport, what a car costs against the Elizabeth line and the DLR, and how tourism boards and exhibitor teams book a week of transfers on one account.
Updated October 2026 for the 3 to 5 November 2026 show. Prices are MILE5’s live rate card on 12 October 2026.
When Is WTM London 2026 and What Is New This Year?
World Travel Market London 2026 takes place from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 November 2026 at ExCeL London. The 2025 show drew 46,500 attendees from 182 countries, exhibitor numbers were up 5 per cent, and the organisers put the business written on the floor at more than £2.2 billion. For 2026 WTM adds a co-located WTM Travel Tech event, a new Wanderlust Headliner Stage (Sir Michael Palin and WTTC’s Gloria Guevara are on the announced line-up) and a larger TrendFest at the centre of the hall. Registration is open on wtm.com.
What that means for transport: arrivals concentrate on Sunday 1 and Monday 2 November, with the Gulf and Asian carriers landing at Heathrow between 05:00 and 08:00 and the European short-haul wave into Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City through the afternoon. Departures bunch on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Those are the windows when app prices at the airports climb and when a pre-booked car earns its keep.
How Far Is ExCeL From Each London Airport?
ExCeL sits on the north side of Royal Victoria Dock in east London, two stops on the DLR from Canning Town and a ten-minute drive from London City Airport. Custom House station, on the Elizabeth line, is at the west entrance; Prince Regent, on the DLR, is at the east entrance. Neither the Congestion Charge nor a river tunnel toll applies to a car arriving from the west; routes from Gatwick and the south cross the Thames, and the fixed price covers whatever crossing the chauffeur uses.
| Airport | Road distance to ExCeL | Car, typical | Public transport |
|---|---|---|---|
| London City (LCY) | 2 miles | 10 min | DLR with a change at Canning Town, about 15 minutes; the journey is under the 3-mile minimum for our online form, so add it to a longer booking or WhatsApp us |
| Heathrow (LHR) | About 30 miles | 60–90 min | Elizabeth line direct to Custom House on the Abbey Wood trains, about an hour, no change; the carriages are busy through the centre with exhibition cases |
| Gatwick (LGW) | About 40 miles | 60–90 min | Train to London Bridge or Farringdon, then Jubilee line and DLR or the Elizabeth line; two changes with luggage |
| Stansted (STN) | About 35 miles | 60–80 min | Stansted Express to Liverpool Street, then Elizabeth line to Custom House |
| Luton (LTN) | About 40 miles | 70–100 min | DART to Luton Airport Parkway, Thameslink to Farringdon, Elizabeth line to Custom House |
What Does a Chauffeur Cost for WTM Week?
These are MILE5’s current fixed prices for the routes WTM delegates book most, taken from the live rate card. Every price is per car and includes the meet and greet inside arrivals, flight tracking, 60 minutes of free waiting after landing, luggage help and the airport charges. The E-Class carries three passengers and three cases; the V-Class carries seven with pop-up banners and sample boxes in the back. Nothing rises on the Monday arrival peak.
| Route | Allow | Mercedes E-Class | Mercedes S-Class | Mercedes V-Class MPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatwick to ExCeL London | 60–90 min | From £222 | From £322 | From £332 |
| Heathrow to Canary Wharf (Docklands hotels) | 45–75 min | From £164 | From £241 | From £244 |
| Heathrow to Mayfair (West End hotels) | 45–60 min | From £147 | From £204 | From £205 |
| Heathrow to London City Airport (onward connections) | 45–70 min | From £257 | From £369 | From £386 |
| Gatwick to Mayfair | 55–90 min | From £239 | From £344 | From £357 |
| Stansted to Canary Wharf | 55–75 min | From £189 | From £276 | From £280 |
| Luton to Canary Wharf | 60–90 min | From £232 | From £335 | From £346 |
| London City to Canary Wharf | 10–20 min | From £70 | From £106 | From £97 |
| London City to The O2 (InterContinental) | 15–25 min | From £70 | From £105 | From £97 |
| London City to Mayfair | 35–45 min | From £95 | From £126 | From £126 |
Times are typical outside the weekday peaks; the price is fixed whatever the traffic does. For a hotel not listed, enter the address on the booking form, or browse every hotel we serve from London City and the Gatwick airport transfers hub.
Where Should a WTM Delegate Stay, and Does It Change the Transfer?
There are three sensible bases. Staying at the dock itself (the hotels along Western Gateway and around Royal Victoria) means a two-minute walk to the halls and a longer ride in from Heathrow; the Canary Wharf and Docklands hotels are a ten-minute car ride or one Elizabeth line stop from ExCeL and a shorter run from every airport; and the West End puts you 45 minutes from the show but close to the evening receptions in Mayfair and Soho. The price rows above cover all three, and the same driver can do the airport leg on Sunday and a hotel-to-ExCeL run on Tuesday morning if you book both together.
Delegates connecting through London on the way to another show, or flying home from a different airport than they arrived at, should look at the inter-airport transfer prices: Heathrow to London City is from £257, and it is a common pairing for exhibitors arriving long-haul and leaving on a European short-haul from LCY.
Booking a Week of Transfers for a Team or a Tourism Board
Most of our WTM work is not single bookings: it is a tourism board landing eight people on three flights, an exhibitor with a stand crew arriving Sunday and a sales team arriving Monday, or a travel-tech company running client dinners in town. That is booked as one account rather than one trip at a time.
- One invoice for the show. A MILE5 business account puts every arrival, ExCeL run and departure on a single monthly invoice with the passenger names against each journey.
- Name boards for every arrival. Each passenger is met inside arrivals with their own name or the company name on the board; flights are tracked individually, so a delayed Doha arrival does not move the Frankfurt pickup.
- The V-Class for the stand. Seven seats and eight cases, or fewer seats and more banner tubes; say what you are carrying and the right car is allocated.
- As-directed hours in town. For client dinners and evening receptions a chauffeur booked by the hour waits between stops rather than being re-booked each time.
Bringing a team to WTM? Send the flight list and hotel and we will price the week as one schedule, with a single point of contact for changes during the show.
Fixed Price or App Pricing on the Monday Arrival Peak?
The Monday before WTM is one of the busiest single arrival days of the autumn at Heathrow, and app prices respond to it. A ride-hailing estimate from Heathrow to Canary Wharf that reads £55 on a quiet afternoon commonly reads £100 or more when a long-haul bank lands, and the pickup is still a walk to the short-stay car park with the cases. A pre-booked MILE5 car is £164 to Canary Wharf whether it is Monday morning or Wednesday night, and the driver is standing at the customs exit. The chauffeur versus Uber comparison for Heathrow sets out the pickup difference in detail.
WTM London 2026 Transfer FAQs
What are the dates of WTM London 2026?
Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 November 2026 at ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL.
Which airport is closest to ExCeL London?
London City Airport, about two miles and ten minutes by car. Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton are each 30 to 40 miles away by road, between one and one and a half hours in normal traffic.
How much is a taxi from Heathrow to ExCeL for WTM?
A MILE5 chauffeur to the Canary Wharf hotels, ten minutes from ExCeL, is from £164 in a Mercedes E-Class, fixed at booking. For a drop directly at ExCeL, enter the postcode E16 1XL on the booking form for an instant fixed quote.
Can I go from Gatwick straight to ExCeL?
Yes. Gatwick to ExCeL London is from £222 in an E-Class, £322 in an S-Class and £332 in a V-Class, typically 60 to 90 minutes, with the river crossing included in the price.
Is there an Elizabeth line station at ExCeL?
Yes, Custom House, at the west entrance. Trains from Heathrow bound for Abbey Wood run there direct in about an hour; trains bound for Shenfield do not, so check the destination on the platform board.
Can a group share one car?
Yes. Prices are per vehicle: an E-Class seats three, a V-Class seven. A four-person stand team from Heathrow to Canary Wharf pays £244 for the V-Class, about £61 each, with the show kit in the back.
- Fixed price
- Met inside arrivals
- Flight tracked
London airport transfers at a fixed price
Mercedes chauffeur, met inside arrivals, flight tracked. Price before you pay.
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