What was the second airport in the UK?

In 1952 it was announced that Gatwick had been selected for development as London's second airport, with a new terminal building and a concrete runway.



Historically, London Gatwick (LGW) is considered the "second airport" of the United Kingdom, both in terms of its 1950s designation and its current traffic volume. While many regional aerodromes existed earlier, Gatwick was officially chosen by the British government in 1950 to serve as the primary relief airport for London's Heathrow. It was the first airport in the world to have a direct railway link built into its terminal (opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958). Interestingly, London Croydon Airport was actually the UK's first major international terminal in the 1920s, but it was closed in 1959 as Gatwick rose to prominence. By 2026, Gatwick remains the busiest "single-runway" airport in the world during peak hours, firmly holding its status as the UK's secondary global gateway, handling over 46 million passengers annually and serving as the historic home for many charter and transatlantic holiday flights.

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Gatwick Airport (LGW) is the UK's 2nd-busiest airport which ran commercial flights since 1933. May refer to it as London Gatwick, and it's also London's 2nd-largest airport after Heathrow.

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It is not as if the city of London planned where to put each airport. They were there when the need for additional capacity appeared; in some cases the airports initially served local municipalities and cargo airlines, later to be used by charter and other airlines when the airports closer to London were full.

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1930s. June 1930: The airfield was declared operational. 1930 to 1939: The airfield was first called Harmondsworth Aerodrome, then The Great West Aerodrome, and sometimes Heathrow Aerodrome.

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'London's largest airport, Heathrow, is hemmed in by the suburbs and limited to just two runways,' he explains. 'Because it can't expand, the demand for air travel is met by smaller, single-runway airports around the South-East: Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Southend.

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Colonsay Airport, run by Argyll and Bute Council with flights operated by Hebridean Air Services, recorded just 49 passengers in 2020, the year Covid-19 and lockdowns hit, the video reported.

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Also called the London Airport, Heathrow Airport is the largest airport in the United Kingdom. The airport connects a number of destinations and makes it easier for passengers to travel all over. It is located at a distance of 23 km from London.

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College Park Airport (KCGS) was established in 1909 after Wilbur Wright came to the field to train two military officers to fly in the government's first aeroplane. The facility is now the world's oldest continually operated airport and is the site of many significant aviation firsts.

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London has six major airports: London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted and London Southend. Find all the information you need about London's airport facilities, locations and connections, including a London airports map.

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The name Gatwick is said to derive from old English meaning (essentially) “Goat Farm”. The London & Brighton Railway opened on 12th July 1841 and ran close to the Gatwick Manor house. The Jordan family sold the land to the newly established Gatwick Race Course Company in 1890.

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Heathrow is London's busiest and biggest airport.

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1. Heathrow (LHR) Heathrow Airport, London's main hub, is also one of the world's busiest airports, with 80.1 million passengers coming through in 2018. Spread across five terminals and just 14 miles west of central London, it's the easiest airport for getting into town.

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Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remains the busiest airport in the world with 5.2 million seats in September 2023. The composition of the Global Top 10 Busiest Airports is also the same as last month but there are a few changes to the rankings.

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Heathrow is larger and has better links in and out of the airport to Central London. Heathrow has five terminals and four runways. Meanwhile, Gatwick has two terminals and two runways. Heathrow is nearer to Central London.

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The airfield is managed by three FAA air traffic control towers. O'Hare has a voluntary nighttime (22:00–07:00) noise abatement program. Currently, O'Hare has the most runways of any civilian airport in the world, totaling eight.

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The name Heathrow is named after the ancient hamlet Heath Row, upon where the airport is now built. The settlement, which was largely an agricultural area, was demolished fully in 1944 to make way for the development of the airfield.

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