London’s Airports Limitations

The UK is the world’s third largest nation for Air Transport after the USA and China. London and it’s six airports process more passenger traffic each year (~180m in 2018) than any other city in the world. According to forecasts by both Airbus and Boeing, passenger growth in Europe will continue at about 3.4% every year to 2036. This suggests that by 2030, up to 60 million additional passengers will need to be handled each year by London’s airports. This is still the equivalent of adding the combined 2016 throughput of Stansted, Luton and London City Airport.

London’s airports are today severely constrained and the very high level of scheduled runway utilisation now necessary at Heathrow and Gatwick already means that operational resilience is generally below the levels achieved by most major airports in Europe. Poor resilience leads to delays, flight cancellation or diversion, especially in poor weather conditions or during airport, airline or ATC system failure.

Each of the six London airports have developed plans to grow their capacity, proposing a wide range of initiatives to meet forecast demand. London has maintained its place as the world’s busiest air transport hub, by developing sophisticated techniques to enhance use of the infrastructure available.

This report prepared by a Pegasus Senior Adviser considers how London’s airports and airlines have evolved and considers the perspective of airports and airlines seeking to benefit from London’s burgeoning demand.

Download a copy of the report here

or contact: Graham Lake