Belfast Airport Taxi

£30–35 on the meter gets you from BFS to Belfast city

Belfast Airport Taxi usually just means grabbing a metered black cab outside T1 at Belfast International (BFS) and heading straight to your hotel. The taxi rank sits a short walk outside arrivals, and most runs into the city centre land in the £30–35 range in normal traffic. Figure on 30–40 minutes into town via the M2 if the road is clear.

There’s no flat fare from BFS: every cab runs on a meter, with supplements at night, on Sundays, and on bank holidays. That’s where people see £40+ for the same city-centre trip that cost £32 on a weekday afternoon. The distance is roughly 18 miles / 29 km, so delays around Templepatrick or M2 roadworks add real money to the total.

For late easyJet arrivals after 21:00, Reddit users report taxi queues of 20–30 minutes when two or three flights land close together. The rank can empty fast once a couple of A320s dump 150+ passengers each into the same small arrivals hall. If you’re solo and landing into that stack, the Airport Express 300 bus at around £9–£10 one-way from outside T1 is usually faster and cheaper.

Locals point out that prebooking with a Belfast city firm can shave a few pounds off a walk-up meter fare, especially on daytime runs under light traffic. One Redditor mentioned saving “a fiver or so” on a prebooked run versus a rank cab for the same BFS–City Hall route. The catch: if your flight slips by 45 minutes, the driver may either leave or charge extra waiting time, usually in 5–15 minute blocks.

Regulars who care about price often ride the Airport Express 300 into Europa Buscentre and then spend £6–£10 on a short hop in a black cab or ride-hail. On a weekday, that combo can keep door-to-door under £20 versus the £30–35 direct from BFS. This works especially well if you’re staying within a mile of City Hall or the Cathedral Quarter.

Simple step-by-step from plane to taxi seat

• 1. Land at T1 and follow signs to Arrivals / Baggage reclaim; this usually takes 5–10 minutes from the gate.
• 2. Collect bags, pass through customs, and exit into the public arrivals area on the ground floor of T1.
• 3. Look for “Taxi / Bus” signs and walk outside to the forecourt; the official taxi rank sits directly in front of the terminal doors.
• 4. Join the taxi queue; if two evening easyJet flights just landed, budget 20–30 minutes in line.
• 5. Before you get in, confirm with the driver that the fare is metered and ask for a rough estimate to your destination (for Belfast city centre they’ll usually quote around £30–35 daytime).
• 6. If it’s late night, a Sunday, or a bank holiday, ask about surcharges so you’re not surprised by a £40+ total on arrival.
• 7. Pay in cash or card depending on the cab’s setup; some independent drivers are still cash-only, so carrying £40–50 in pounds from the ATM in T1 is smart.

One practical tip: check real-time bus and taxi queues as soon as you hit arrivals; if the taxi line is snaking back inside, the 300 from outside T1 plus a short city cab can save both time and money.