List of busiest airports in the United Kingdom facts for kids

Planes waiting to take off at Heathrow Airport, which had 79 million passengers in 2023

Gatwick Airport, the second busiest airport after Heathrow

Manchester Airport, the third busiest airport in the UK and the busiest outside London

This article lists the busiest airports in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. We rank them by how many passengers they handle. This information comes from the Civil Aviation Authority. Sometimes, the numbers also show how many planes took off or landed, and how much cargo was moved.

The United Kingdom is an island country with many large and busy airports in Europe. London Heathrow is the biggest airport in the UK. It serves over 79 million international passengers each year. London is the world's busiest city for air travel. It has six international airports. In 2023, these airports handled over 168 million passengers. London Gatwick is London's second-busiest airport. Until 2016, it was the busiest airport in the world with only one runway. Manchester Airport is the third busiest airport in the UK. London Stansted and London Luton are the fourth and fifth busiest airports.

The largest airport company in the UK is Heathrow Airport Holdings. They own Heathrow Airport. The next largest is Manchester Airports Group. They own Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports. These companies, along with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, are part of the Aviation Foundation. This group works to support the needs of air travel in the UK.

How Busy Are UK Airports?

This section shows how busy UK airports are. We look at the number of passengers. We also see how many planes take off and land.

Top UK Airports by Passenger Traffic (2023)

Here are the 40 busiest airports in the UK by passenger numbers in 2023. This data is from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Rank 2023	Airport	Total passengers			Aircraft movements
		2022	2023	Change 2022 / 23	2022	2023	Change 2022 / 23
1	London Heathrow	61,611,838	79,180,434	028.5%	380,305	456,600	020.1%
2	London Gatwick	32,835,381	40,897,656	024.6%	217,622	256,893	018.0%
3	Manchester	23,364,471	28,096,783	020.3%	158,575	180,246	013.7%
4	London Stansted	23,290,097	27,951,291	020.0%	176,914	195,438	010.5%
5	London Luton	13,324,491	16,403,784	023.1%	118,063	128,430	008.8%
6	Edinburgh	11,250,211	14,396,794	028.0%	98,065	115,076	017.3%
7	Birmingham	9,597,485	11,481,365	019.6%	65,644	86,584	031.9%
8	Bristol	7,948,941	9,913,011	024.7%	65,909	77,260	017.2%
9	Glasgow	6,517,585	7,358,828	012.9%	70,391	74,563	005.9%
10	Belfast International	4,818,214	5,957,055	023.6%	49,942	57,761	015.7%
11	Newcastle	4,128,407	4,819,969	016.8%	41,187	45,229	009.8%
12	Liverpool	3,490,844	4,193,623	020.1%	47,526	49,436	004.0%
13	Leeds Bradford	3,288,635	3,989,405	021.3%	33,912	36,413	007.4%
14	East Midlands	3,186,367	3,932,497	023.4%	64,678	66,212	002.4%
15	London City	3,009,313	3,429,684	014.0%	49,937	52,101	004.3%
16	Aberdeen	1,960,307	2,229,918	013.8%	74,098	73,442	000.9%
17	Belfast City	1,655,164	2,115,153	027.8%	25,368	29,282	015.4%
18	Jersey	1,336,082	1,468,820	009.9%	32,185	30,869	004.1%
19	Bournemouth	734,530	950,206	029.4%	29,186	20,650	029.2%
20	Cardiff	859,805	838,529	002.5%	18,793	15,806	015.9%
21	Inverness	700,012	802,338	014.6%	23,820	23,842	000.1%
22	Southampton	631,458	754,931	019.6%	20,562	21.998	007.0%
23	Guernsey	654,446	694,958	006.2%	28,854	27,872	003.4%
24	Isle of Man	551,941	638,619	015.7%	15,208	15,741	003.5%
25	Glasgow Prestwick	445,211	524,880	017.9%	19,034	24,471	028.6%
26	Exeter	382,223	433,067	013.3%	30,874	27,082	012.3%
27	Newquay	244,675	408,870	067.1%	24,625	19,384	021.3%
28	Norwich	319,040	357,852	012.2%	31,434	29,662	008.8%
29	Sumburgh	247,538	259,068	004.7%	17,715	17,426	001.6%
30	Teesside	173,785	226,557	030.4%	20,319	21,125	004.0%
31	City of Derry	163,379	154,486	005.4%	7,122	7,110	000.2%
32	London Southend	89,361	146,072	063.5%	26,624	31,546	018.5%
33	Kirkwall	133,410	143,093	007.3%	11,758	11,443	002.7%
34	Humberside	92,465	136,976	048.1%	13,103	16,678	027.3%
35	Stornoway	102,331	106,237	003.8%	7,384	7,366	000.2%
36	St Mary's	86,846	69,404	020.1%	10,381	8,849	014.8%
37	Land's End	63,737	54,517	014.5%	9,169	7,475	018.5%
38	Alderney	50,924	49,546	002.7%	7,629	7,237	005.1%
39	Farnborough	N/A	38,827	100.0%	N/A	32,622	100.0%
40	Dundee	38,451	38,508	000.1%	13,522	6,019	055.5%
TOP 40 TOTAL		223,379,401	275,645,634	023.4%	2,157,437	2,414,262	011.9%
>40	Other UK Airports	1,070,406	126,129	088.2%	420,195	361,950	013.9%
TOTAL		224,449,807	275,769,740	022.9%	2,577,632	2,588,599	000.4%

Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2023

How Airport Traffic Changed (2022)

This table shows the 40 busiest UK airports in 2022. It also compares their passenger numbers to 2021.

Rank 2022	Airport	Total passengers			Aircraft movements
		2021	2022	Change 2021 / 22	2021	2022	Change 2021 / 22
1	London Heathrow	19,393,886	61,611,838	217.7%	195,336	380,305	094.7%
2	London Gatwick	6,261,814	32,835,381	424.4%	55,817	217,622	289.9%
3	Manchester	6,085,103	23,364,471	284.0%	66,310	158,575	139.1%
4	London Stansted	7,148,200	23,290,097	225.8%	93,316	176,914	089.6%
5	London Luton	4,674,800	13,324,491	185.0%	61,703	118,063	091.3%
6	Edinburgh	3,024,960	11,250,211	271.9%	43,674	98,065	124.5%
7	Birmingham	2,482,430	9,597,485	286.6%	35,411	65,644	085.4%
8	Bristol	2,087,772	7,948,941	280.7%	32,278	65,909	104.2%
9	Glasgow	2,072,546	6,517,585	214.5%	39,713	70,391	077.2%
10	Belfast International	2,328,276	4,818,214	106.9%	33,964	49,942	047.0%
11	Newcastle	1,024,930	4,128,407	302.8%	21,421	41,187	092.3%
12	Liverpool	1,165,508	3,490,844	199.5%	29,327	47,526	062.1%
13	Leeds Bradford	739,131	3,288,635	344.9%	14,566	33,912	132.8%
14	East Midlands	832,529	3,186,367	282.7%	52,327	64,678	023.6%
15	London City	720,580	3,009,313	317.6%	14,463	49,937	245.3%
16	Aberdeen	1,075,639	1,960,307	082.2%	62,986	74,098	017.6%
17	Belfast City	812,424	1,655,164	103.7%	12,819	25,368	097.9%
18	Jersey	678,151	1,336,082	097.0%	22,861	32,185	040.8%
19	Doncaster Sheffield	309,512	959,963	210.2%	14,077	15,847	012.6%
20	Cardiff	123,825	859,805	594.4%	11,236	18,793	067.3%
TOP 40 TOTAL		65,529,031	224,339,364	242.4%	1,270,546	2,173,284	071.1%
>40	Other UK Airports	64,325	110,443	071.7%	358,447	404,348	012.8%
TOTAL		65,593,356	224,449,807	242.2%	1,628,993	2,577,632	058.2%

Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2022

Future Airport Plans

Many UK airports have plans to grow and improve. This will help them handle more passengers and flights.

Heathrow Airport Plans

Heathrow Airport opened Terminal 5 in 2008. This helped it handle more than 90 million passengers. This could make Heathrow the world's busiest airport. There are also ideas for a third runway. This would allow over 115 million passengers each year. However, a second runway at Gatwick is also being considered.

Gatwick Airport Plans

Gatwick Airport is also hoping for a new runway. If it gets one, it could become as busy as Heathrow. Supporters believe having several large airports in London is better than one huge one.

Manchester Airport Plans

Manchester Airport is planning to expand its services and facilities. They expect to serve 50 million passengers by 2030. This is more than double the current number.

Stansted Airport Plans

Plans for a second runway at Stansted Airport were put on hold in 2010. The airport was sold to Manchester Airports Group in 2013. This happened after a decision by the Competition Commission.

Luton Airport Plans

Luton Airport has seen a huge increase in passengers. Its usage grew by about 900% between 1991 and 2006. Plans for a new runway and terminal were cancelled due to money issues. However, a new rail link between London St. Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway has been approved.

Birmingham Airport Plans

Birmingham Airport recently made its runway longer. This allows it to handle long-distance flights to places like the Far East and South America. The airport also has plans for a second runway. This would connect to the High Speed 2 railway. In 2019, the airport confirmed a £500 million expansion. This will help the airport serve up to 20 million passengers. This new project will create over 3,500 new jobs. It is expected to be finished by 2033.

Leeds Bradford Airport Plans

In 2008, Bridgepoint Capital announced a £28 million plan. This plan is to expand the terminal building at Leeds Bradford Airport. It will allow the airport to handle over 6 million passengers a year. The airport also wants to increase parking and aircraft stands. They also plan to build a railway link to Horsforth. This would connect to Leeds railway station.

Bournemouth Airport Plans

Manchester Airports Group announced a £45 million redevelopment for Bournemouth Airport in 2006. Work began in 2008. The terminal building will double in size. It will replace the old arrivals terminal. The number of aircraft stands will increase from 4 to 13. More car parking spaces will also be added. Improvements to local roads are also part of the plan. There might also be a new hotel built.

London Southend Airport Plans

Since 2008, London Southend Airport has been greatly developed. This includes a 300 metres (980 ft) runway extension. A new terminal, railway station, and hotel are also part of the plan. EasyJet started flights from the airport in April 2012. They expected to carry 700,000 passengers that year alone.

Bristol Airport Plans

Bristol Airport is expanding in stages. There are 30 construction projects planned. These aim to increase passenger numbers to 10 million a year. Plans include doubling the size of the passenger terminal. New piers and aircraft parking stands are also planned. The airport will also extend the apron, which is where planes park. Two multi-storey car parks and a public transport hub are also included. In 2013, construction started on a £6.5 million walkway. This walkway connects to the main terminal. It provides four more pre-boarding areas. The 3,880 square metres (41,800 sq ft) walkway opened in 2014. It allows the use of jetways, even for large planes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In 2014, the airport announced an £8.6 million eastward extension. This was completed in 2015. After that, an 8,500 square metres (91,000 sq ft) western terminal extension began. This will expand security, baggage, and immigration areas. A 201-room Hampton by Hilton hotel is also being built. It should be ready by winter 2016. The airport has also invested in local roads, like the South Bristol Link road. This will make travel to the airport faster.

See also

• Transport in the United Kingdom
• Air transport in the United Kingdom
• List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies