London Gatwick ascends to second in UK's busiest airport rankings

Whether people will be happy about starting their holiday or have the post-holiday blues, all airports and airlines across the country are bracing themselves for another busy summer period.

The 2023 Busiest Airport Report by ePower Trucks ranks the most popular airports based on the amount of passengers, the amount of airlines and total destinations, revealing the best airport for holidays to different countries.

Key Findings:

✈️ London Gatwick is the second busiest airport in the UK with 32,839,000 passengers, that's almost half the total of Heathrow.

✈️ London Heathrow is the busiest with a total of 61,599,196 passengers, 86 airlines and 171 possible destinations.

✈️Kirkwall is the least busy with only 177,248, 2 airlines and 11 destinations which are all in the UK.

✈️Capital city airports like Belfast and Cardiff have a combined 6,283,830 passengers, 25 airlines and 49 destinations, which still makes them less busy than all of London’s airports.

✈️ They were a total of 71.0 million visits abroad in 2022, a 272% increase from the year before which was 19.1 million visits, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Top 5 Busiest Airports Across the UK (by passengers)

1. London Heathrow - 61,599,196

Image: London Heathrow terminal

Considering the population of London, there is no surprise that Heathrow Airport is the most popular. Heathrow has had many major events happen within its terminals. When Queen Elizabeth II opened the central terminal room in 1955 to the most recent appearance in major films like Love Actually, which began with a montage from there. It also has 86 airlines and a total of 171 destinations to choose from, making Heathrow the go-to airport for international travel.

2. London Gatwick – 32,839,000

The next popular airport is another London one, London Gatwick. They are the secondary airport in the area to Heathrow, based in West Sussex. They handle long-haul and short-haul flights. They also have 47 airlines and 165 destinations to visit. Despite them being in this position, they still have 28,760,196 less passengers a year than Heathrow.

3. Manchester - 23,369,770

Manchester is the only airport outside of London to break into the top 5. Their extensive scale and exceptional amenities enable it to cater to a greater number of long-distance flights. They have 50 airlines, and 146 possible destinations people can visit. Manchester acts as a major international hub for travellers from the north of England.

4. London Stansted - 23,319,523

Stansted Airport, London's third major airport, consistently achieves comparable passenger volumes to Manchester Airport, despite its single runway and terminal configuration. This airport serves as a favoured choice for individuals, especially in the northern areas of London or the less populated regions of East England. Despite only having 10 airlines, they have flights to 153 countries which proves their popularity.

5. London Luton - 13,322,000

Securing the fifth position is yet another prominent London airport. Situated approximately 35 miles north of Central London and boasts its status as a significant town. Since then, passenger traffic at the airport has witnessed a remarkable surge. Like Stansted airport, they have a low amount of airlines at just 8 but they still have flights to 88 possible destinations.

Top 5 Quiet Airports Across the UK (by passengers)

1. Kirkwall - 177,248

Image: Control Tower at Kirkwall Airport taken by Adrian Beney / CC BY-SA 2.0

Kirkwall Airport, located in the scenic Orkney Islands of Scotland, stands out as one of the quietest airports in the United Kingdom. Nestled in a serene and remote setting, this area has a small population (7,450) and a limited tourist influx compared to more bustling urban centres. They have 2 airlines and 11 destinations, which are all in the UK.

2. Humberside - 261,132

Humberside is situated in North Lincolnshire, which is an area away from major metropolitan areas resulting in less air traffic and fewer flights compared to busier airports. They have just 4 airlines and 4 destinations for people to go to.

3. Newquay/Cornwall - 461,148

This airport is located on the coast of Cornwall, the southwest of England where less of the UK population lives due to it being a rural area. Also, they have fewer international and long-haul flights. They have 4 airlines and 5 possible destinations.

4. Norwich - 528,153

Norwich serves international flights, but they are quite limited in the destinations (6), they do more domestic flights which proves why it’s less busy. They also have 6 airlines.

5. Bournemouth - 693,798

Due to being on the south coast of England, Bournemouth is away from major metropolitan areas which is why they get less air traffic. They have 3 airlines and 17 possible destinations.

Top 20 Populated Areas in the UK

Top 10 Popular Airlines in the UK (by positive opinion)

I hope this is of use, full data and methodology can be accessed below.

Methodology

We used data from World Data Info about the busiest airports in the UK. Looked at the amount of passengers that travelled from these airports to see the busiest and quietest.

For information about each airport, we looked at their individual website and looked at the history section (e.g. Heathrow history). Also, a list of popular destinations from these airports is in the ePower Airport report.

Found the total amount of passengers through the Office for National Statistics about travel trends.

The top populated areas in the UK were listed through the World Population Review website.

The most popular airlines data was from the YouGov website.

About: ePower Trucks are the leading provider of electric airport transport vehicles helping disabled passengers or those with reduced mobility around busy terminals. Specialising in the sale, repair, and service of a range of PRM transport vehicles including an aisle Mobby transport chair, e-Mobby electric transport chair, and a multi-Mobby. The provision of specialised assistance, such as PRM transport or airport wheelchairs, becomes vital to ensure a smooth and accessible travel experience for individuals requiring additional support.