The only reason why London has so many airports so far from the city centre

London boasts more airports than any other city in Europe, just overtaken for the global top spot by New York. Instead of one or two large airports conveniently located near transport links or city centres, there are six amazing airports with ‘London’ in their name.

London’s many airports range in size from bizarrely small to large, multi-terminal airports serving passengers from all over the world. The largest of the six is ​​Heathrow, with four terminals confusingly labeled 2 to 5. Next time you go on holiday, you might wonder why exactly there are so many airports around the capital.

After the First World War, it became apparent to many in Britain that aviation would begin to play a larger role in society, not just military. Some have speculated that flying will become akin to driving, with each person owning their own personal plane or helicopter, making the morning commute to London a way to bypass traffic.

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This concept was taken so seriously that plans were actually proposed for an airfield, an early type of airport for small pilot-owned aircraft, to be built on top of King’s Cross station. Plans from 1931 depict a wheel-like structure that would have housed six airstrips for personal planes to land at any time.

However, both the airfield and the flying shuttle idea were abandoned when it became apparent that flight was being developed as a means of mass transit rather than targeting individual vehicles. The concept has gone from personalized travel, where you have to own your own plane to fly, to now simply purchasing a ticket, MyLondon reports.

Surprisingly, London’s first official international airport opened at Croydon in 1920. Converted from an airfield to a landing zone for commercial flights, it was the capital’s first terminal designed for passengers rather than pilots.

The airport was at the heart of Britain’s interwar civil aviation boom, making Croydon the new gateway to the British Empire for travelers lucky enough to have the resources to visit overseas territories. The conversion of the airfield led to many others following suit, with several being converted to the capital. An even bigger boom in airports came during World War II, with aviation once again playing a crucial role in the war effort.

World War II saw a huge advance in aviation technology in a short period of time, with airplanes becoming larger and more powerful. This meant that by the end of the war, many London airports were no longer suitable as the noise from the larger jet engines was too loud for the surrounding residents and the planes needed longer runways.

This led to the closure of a number of converted airfields as they were unsuitable for commercial flights, including Croydon Airport in 1959. Instead, it was decided that much larger airports with greater capacity could be built on the outskirts of London to serve commercial passengers. .

An area to the west of the capital was chosen as being far enough away from heavily populated areas, yet close enough to reach from London. There, in 1945, Heathrow was born, originally called London Airport.

Gatwick followed in 1958, with RAF Gatwick opened as Gatwick Airport to support Heathrow’s passenger capacity. However, when the 1960s saw a package holiday boom, many more ordinary people could afford to go on holiday – so more airports were needed.

As a result, a third commercial airport was planned for London. An area with good transport links and room for expansion was needed, but finding a location that was convenient for passengers without adversely affecting local residents was again a challenge. Many Londoners hated the idea of ​​having a noisy and smelly airport in their back garden, leading to the decision to convert another RAF base, RAF Stansted. Stansted’s conversion was completed in 1990, just one year before Luton Airport.

Luton Airport had been in existence since 1938, but began serving passengers from London as well as its original home users. At the same time as Stansted’s conversion, London City Airport was established on an old dock in Canary Wharf and opened in 1987. This development meant that London expanded from two to five airports in a short space of time.

Finally, London Southend renamed its London airport in 2012 after the introduction of a rail line connecting it to London. It has the lowest number of passengers each year, with around 2 million passengers using the airport before the pandemic.

The reason London requires so many airports compared to other cities is twofold. First, the large number of people who use London each year, either for air transfers or sightseeing. Second, Heathrow, London’s main airport, has faced expansion problems since its inception.

Heathrow is now surrounded by residential areas, leaving little room for further expansion beyond its current two runways – while plans for a third runway have been met with strong opposition. Without expansion, Heathrow alone cannot meet travel demands, giving Londoners a variety of airports to choose from for their summer holidays.

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