We get asked this in the car most weeks: “My sister's in Brighton, we're in Worthing, who should we leave from?” So here are the numbers we plan every pickup with, and a few things the sat nav won't tell you.
Same calm, slightly different price.
Worthing, Lancing and Shoreham to Gatwick are £80 fixed. Brighton and Hove are £75. Either way it's one price, agreed before you set off, and the airport drop-off charge is included.
The times, town by town
Door to terminal, which is the only number that matters. These are planning times, and we time every pickup for the traffic on the day.
| From | Overnight, before 5am | Weekday daytime | Rush hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | 40 min | 50 min | up to 65 min |
| Hove | 40 min | 50 min | up to 65 min |
| Shoreham | 40 min | 50 min | up to 65 min |
| Lancing & Sompting | 45 min | 55 min | up to 70 min |
| Worthing | 45 min | 55 min | up to 70 min |
Which roads we use
From Worthing, most nights it's up the A24 past Findon and on to the M23. If the A24 is slow, we go along the A27 and up the A23 instead. From Brighton and Hove, it's the A23 straight up to the M23, and the slow part is getting out of the city, not the motorway. Shoreham and Lancing sit between the two, so it's east along the A27 and up the A23.
The driver chooses on the night, and the price doesn't move either way. No “the traffic was bad” at the end of the trip.
The rush-hour trap
Here's the bit people miss. Between about 7:30 and 9:30 on a weekday, Brighton's five-minute advantage can disappear completely, because the A23 out of the city crawls while the A24 out of Worthing is usually moving. On a Friday afternoon, the M23 is the same for everyone, and everyone is slow. So:
- Before 6am: Brighton wins by about five minutes. Nobody notices.
- Weekday rush hour: it's a draw, and we plan extra time from both.
- Friday afternoon or a bank holiday: add 15 to 20 minutes wherever you are, and we will.
So when do we leave?
We work backwards from your flight: two hours at the airport for short-haul, three for long-haul, then the drive for that hour. On a weekday in November, a 7am easyJet flight means a 4:15am pickup from Worthing and about 4:20 from Brighton.
A 10am flight means leaving around 6:50 from either, because that's when the roads fill up. Our When should we leave? planner does the sum for your flight in a few seconds.
Quick answers
Is it cheaper to leave from Brighton?
By £5, yes: Brighton and Hove are £75 to Gatwick, Worthing is £80. If half your group is in each town, we can collect from both on one booking, and it's usually simpler than everyone driving to one house at 4am.
Can you pick up in Worthing and Brighton on the same trip?
Yes. Extra stops are £10 each way. Worthing first, then Shoreham or Hove, then on to Gatwick works nicely, and everyone gets collected from their own front door.
What about Heathrow?
Same idea, bigger numbers: about 1 hour 10 from Worthing overnight and 1 hour 5 from Brighton, with the M25 deciding the rest. See Worthing to Heathrow and Brighton to Heathrow.
Does the price change if there's traffic?
No. The price is fixed when you book. The only thing that changes is how early we ask to collect you.
Your route pages
The Airlink team · Sussex Airlink, Worthing. We speak fluent airport.