By far the UK’s most populous city, London hosts nearly 175 million passengers each year through numerous airports scattered in and around the city. But collectively, the airports of London have a long, interesting and often intertwined history!
Indeed, the city has so much air traffic that almost all airports that primarily serve the city are currently looking to increase their capacity by adding more terminals and more controversially, runways, as seen with London Heathrow.
For the purposes of this article, we are defining “airports of London” as any airport that primarily serves the London metropolitan area, including both the City of London and Greater London, rather than airports just based there.
International Airports
Heathrow
London City Airport
Gatwick
Stanstead
Luton
Southend
Other Airports
Biggin Hill Airport
Oxford Airport
Blackbushe Airport
Farnborough Airport
Damyns Hall Airport
London Heliport
RAF Northolt
Proposed Airports
Due to congestion at the city’s other airports, there have long been proposals to build an additional airport to alleviate the congestion.
For the most part, these airports have been proposed being built on an island in the Thames Estuary, thus avoiding issues faced by other airports, such as being surrounded by built-up areas or requiring low-level flying over large parts of the city.
The first of these such proposals arose in the 1940’s, but have all failed to be implemented due to a number of reasons, mostly technical, financial or technological.
Many of these proposals have been notable in their own right, but arguably the two most famous of recent years would be then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s London Britannia Airport project and Norman Foster’s Thames Hub Airport.
In November 2008, Mayor of London Boris Johnson appointed Doug Oakervee to instigate a feasibility study about building an airport on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent and connecting it to London via London Underground’s Crossrail project, of which he was the executive chairman.
Despite widespread popularity, a lack of legal constraints and the project gaining the official name of “London Britannia Airport” (and the nickname “Boris Island” by the press), a 2014 Airports Commission report recommended the proposal be scrapped.
In a similar vane, British architect Sir Norman Foster submitted plans to build a four-runway airport on the Isle of Grain by expanding it into the sea, as done in both Qatar and Hong Kong. This idea similarly gained popularity.
After reviewing the proposal, the Airports Commission rejected it on environmental and cost grounds (by some estimates, the airport would cost as much as $100 billion), though the project still has large support in both London and the local area.
What do you think about the airports of London? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Mike McBey via Flickr.