Airports of London

The metropolitan area of London, United Kingdom is served by six international airports and several smaller airports. Together, they make the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers and the second busiest by aircraft movements. In 2011, the six airports handled a total of 133,709,327 passengers. The London airports handle 60% of all the United Kingdom's air traffic. There are 14 domestic destinations served by the airports and 396 international destinations.

## International airports

### City (LCY)

*Main article: London City Airport*
Located in the London Borough of Newham, City Airport is situated in London's Docklands, and is the closest to central London, which limits its size - the airport has a single runway, which is very short. As a result, no large aircraft are permitted to use the airport, which initially prevented all long-haul flights. However, since 2011, British Airways has operated a flight to New York JFK, via Shannon, using an Airbus A318, which is currently the largest aircraft handled at the airport.

Located only four miles from Canary Wharf, London City Airport is often used by business travellers, with many flights serving destinations across the UK and northern Europe. The airport cannot be expanded due to the docks on either side. It is also the only airport serving London which does not operate at night.

Until the extension of the Docklands Light Railway in 2006, City Airport had poor public transport connections to London.

### Heathrow (LHR)

*Main article: Heathrow Airport*
Located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, Heathrow is by far the largest of London's airports, and considered the international gateway into the United Kingdom. Heathrow has five terminals and two parallel runways. Due to the location in London's western suburbs, Heathrow has been unable to expand (especially since the Cameron ministry scrapped the proposals for a third runway on 12 May 2010), and as a result consistently runs at 99% capacity. This has led to Heathrow being one of the worst rated airports in the world, with lengthy border control queues being a recent problem. The airport is connected to Great Britain's motorway network via the M4 and M25 motorways.

In April 2012, Heathrow announced that for the first time in history it handled 70 million passengers in a calendar year, making it the third busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger numbers, after Atlanta and Beijing. It also comes second behind Dubai International Airport in the list of the busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger numbers, as well as the busiest airport in United Kingdom and the busiest in Europe, again, both in terms of passenger numbers.

Heathrow serves six continents around the world, and is the base for the flag carrier British Airways in Terminal 5. While it also serves short-haul flights, Heathrow is London's long distance hub and is the most popular arrival point for flights from the United States of America, with 13 million passengers. However, because it is operating at capacity, Heathrow has failed to increase service cities in the newly industrialized countries, like China, falling behind European bases like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris.

### Gatwick (LGW)

*Main article: Gatwick Airport*
Located in West Sussex, Gatwick is the second busiest airport in the London metropolitan region, and is the busiest single runway airport in the world. It is currently the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow, and the 10th busiest in Europe. It is the second base for British Airways, serving Europe and the Caribbean. It is also the base for low-cost carriers like Monarch, easyJet, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Flybe.

The airport consists of two terminals, North and South, is connected to the motorway network via the M23, and has its own railway station, with Gatwick Express serving Victoria station in Central London.

### Luton (LTN)

*Main article: London Luton Airport*
Located on the Bedfordshire / Hertfordshire border, Luton Airport is London's fourth largest airport but the closest to the capital after Heathrow and City airports, it is the fifth busiest in the United Kingdom, and the 42nd busiest in Europe. It is the headquarters of the low cost carriers EasyJet, Thomson and Monarch and is a focus airport for other no-frills airlines.

### Stansted (STN)

*Main article: London Stansted Airport*
Located in Essex, Stansted is London's third busiest airport, being the fourth busiest in the United Kingdom, behind Manchester Airport, 26th busiest in Europe, and is one of the primary operational bases for Europe's largest low-cost carrier, Ryanair. Stansted destinations are largely in Europe, however in the past it has served destinations further afield, like Kuala Lumpur. It is the home of Harrods Aviation, allowing VIP aircraft to land there, such as Air Force One carrying the President of the United States, Barack Obama, in 2009 and also 2016.

### Southend (SEN)

*Main article: London Southend Airport*
Located in Essex, Southend Airport expanded commercial air transport operations to destinations in Ireland in 2011, and to Europe in 2012 when easyJet commenced operations using the brand new terminal and railway station. Southend claims it only takes 15 minutes to get through arrivals from plane to train with hand luggage. It was once the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom.

## Other civil airports

A number of other airports also serve the London area.

### Open airports

The following are mainly used by general aviation flights.

* London Biggin Hill Airport, in the London Borough of Bromley
* Blackbushe Airport, in Hampshire
* Damyns Hall Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Havering
* Denham Aerodrome, in Buckinghamshire
* Elstree Airfield, in Hertfordshire
* Fairoaks Airport, in Surrey
* Farnborough Airport, in Hampshire
* London Heliport, in the London Borough of Wandsworth
* Lydd Airport (London Ashford Airport), in Kent
* North Weald Airfield, in Essex
* London Oxford Airport, in Oxfordshire
* Panshanger Aerodrome, in Hertfordshire
* Redhill Aerodrome, in Surrey
* Rochester Airport, in Kent
* Stapleford Aerodrome, in Essex
* White Waltham Airfield, in Berkshire
* Wycombe Air Park, in Buckinghamshire

### Closed airports

Airports are listed at their current borough, although the area may have been outside London at the time of construction.

* Cricklewood Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Barnet
* Croydon Airport, in the London Borough of Croydon
* Great West Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Hillingdon
* Hendon Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Barnet
* Heston Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* London Air Park (Hanworth Air Park), in the London Borough of Hounslow
* Stag Lane Aerodrome, in the London Borough of Barnet

## Royal Air Force stations

There were several Royal Air Force stations in London. This list excludes those that are classed as non-flying stations.

### Operational

* RAF Northolt, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, also handes civil flights

### Non-operational

Station are listed at their current borough, although the area may have been outside London at the time of construction.

* RAF Biggin Hill, in the London Borough of Bromley
* RAF Fairlop, in the London Borough of Redbridge
* RAF Hendon, in the London Borough of Barnet
* RAF Heston, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* RAF Hornchurch, in the London Borough of Havering
* RAF Kenley, in the London Borough of Croydon
* RAF St Pancras, in the London Borough of Camden
* RAF Uxbridge, in the London Borough of Hillingdon

## Proposed airports

### Thames Estuary

*Main article: Thames Estuary Airport*
Due to London's high capacity, in particular London Heathrow, Boris Johnson, London's former mayor, and Sir Norman Foster have both brought up plans to have a new airport built, either on a man-made island in the Thames Estuary, or on the Isle of Grain in North Kent. Foster's proposed Thames Hub Airport would be very similar to the design of Hong Kong International Airport and Qatar's Hamad International Airport. The plans to have an airport able to handle 110 million passengers a year would require the closure of Heathrow, and probably make the new airport the busiest in the world.

The plans have met with opposition from some people living nearby warning the airport would create a significant increase in bird strikes. Other people and local businesses, recognising the depressed levels of economic activity in North Kent, have been supportive and argue that London needs a new airport in order to be able to compete in the world.

## Traffic and Statistics

### Passengers Numbers

**Airports of London Passenger Totals 2004–2014 (millions)**
 Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, City, Southend

### Busiest routes

In total, there were 30 international destinations from London, and another 3 domestic routes, that handled more than 1 million passengers in 2011:

Heathrow Airport is a major hub for flights across the North Atlantic. In 2011, 11% of all north Atlantic flights originated or terminated at Heathrow, more than Paris and Frankfurt combined, and Heathrow is the European terminus for 11 of the 25 busiest north Atlantic routes.

The busiest long-haul route in the world is between London (Heathrow and Gatwick) and New York (JFK and Newark), with a total of 3,898,460 passengers travelling between the two cities in 2011.

## See also

* London
* England
* Airports in the United Kingdom

Bournemouth •
Bristol •
Cornwall •
Doncaster Sheffield Airport •
Durham Tees Valley •
East Midlands •
Exeter •
Humberside •
Leeds Bradford •
Liverpool •
London City •
London Gatwick •
London Heathrow •
London Luton •
London Southend •
London Stansted •
Manchester •
Newcastle •
Newquay •
Norwich •
Southampton
**Smaller:**
Blackpool •
Shoreham (Brighton City) •
Cambridge •
Carlisle •
Cotswold •
Coventry •
Gloucestershire •
Land's End •
Leicester •
London Biggin Hill •
London Oxford •
Lydd •
Manston •
Nottingham •
St Mary's •
Edinburgh •
Glasgow International •
Glasgow Prestwick •
Inverness
**Smaller:**
Barra •
Benbecula •
Campbeltown •
Coll •
Colonsay •
Dundee •
Eday •
Fair Isle •
Islay •
Kirkwall •
Lerwick •
North Ronaldsay •
Oban •
Papa Westray •
Sanday •
Scatsta •
Stornoway •
Stronsay •
Sumburgh •
Tiree •
Westray •
**Smaller:**
Aberporth •
Anglesey •
Caernarfon •
Cardiff Heliport •
Haverfordwest •
Hawarden •
Llanbedr •
Pembrey •
Swansea •
Belfast International •
Derry
**Smaller:**
Enniskillen/St Angelo •
Isle of Man •
Jersey
**Smaller:**
RAF Ascension •
Bermuda •
Anegada •
Beef Island •
Virgin Gorda •
Little Cayman •
Cayman Brac •
Grand Cayman •
Mount Pleasant •
Port Stanley •
Gibraltar •
Montserrat •
Saint Helena (under construction) •
Ambergris Cays •
Grand Turk •
Middle Caicos •
North Caicos •
Pine Cay •
Providenciales •
Salt Cay •
South Caicos

**Smaller airports handle domestic, charter or private services only**

Bournemouth •
Bristol •
Cornwall •
Doncaster Sheffield •
Durham Tees Valley •
East Midlands •
Exeter •
Humberside •
Leeds Bradford •
Liverpool •
London •
Manchester •
Newcastle •
Newquay •
Norwich •