List of busiest airports in the United Kingdom

This is a list of the busiest airports in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man ranked by total passenger traffic, compiled from Civil Aviation Authority data from 2006 to 2023. For some years the figures also show total aircraft movements and cargo volume handled at each airport. For a complete list of UK airports, see List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom, an island country, is home to many of Europe's largest and busiest airports. London Heathrow, which handles over 79 million international passengers annually, is the largest airport in the UK. London serves as the largest aviation hub in the world by passenger traffic, with six international airports, handling over 168 million passengers in 2023, more than any other city (List of busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic). London's second-busiest airport, London Gatwick, was until 2016 the world's busiest single-runway airport. Manchester Airport is the United Kingdom's third-busiest airport. London Stansted and London Luton are the fourth and fifth busiest airports, respectively. The largest airport operator in the United Kingdom is Heathrow Airport Holdings (owner of Heathrow), followed by Manchester Airports Group (owner of Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands). Together with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, they are part of the Aviation Foundation which lobby for the aviation needs of the United Kingdom.

Statistics

Overview

2022 / 2023 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2023, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2023

2021 / 2022 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2022, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2022

2020 / 2021 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2021, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2021

2019 / 2020 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2020, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2020

2018 / 2019 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2019, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2019

2017 / 2018 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2018, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2018

2016 / 2017 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2017, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2017

2015 / 2016 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic and aircraft movements in 2016, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2016

2014 / 2015 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2015, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 2015

2013 / 2014 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2014, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 1990–2014

2012 / 2013 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2013, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 1990–2014

2011 / 2012 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2012, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 1990–2014

2010 / 2011 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2011, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 1990–2014

2009 / 2010 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2010, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 1990–2014

2008 / 2009 data

The following is a list of the 40 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic in 2009, from UK CAA statistics. Source: UK CAA Airport Data 1990–2014

20 largest UK airports by total passenger traffic