Why Does London Have 6 Airports

Summary

This video explores the unique situation of London, which boasts an unprecedented six commercial airports, a phenomenon unmatched by any other city globally. Historically, these airports evolved from WWII Air Force bases, with Heathrow and Gatwick initially serving as London's main hubs. As air travel surged, additional airports like Stansted and Luton were developed to alleviate congestion. Despite challenges in expanding existing airports due to space constraints and residential areas, London's airports continue to serve diverse travel needs, from budget airlines to business travel. The video also discusses the complexities of building new airports in London and the city's potential future air travel solutions.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Big cities like Chicago, Beijing, and Paris have dual airport systems, with one airport focusing on longer and international routes and the other on shorter and domestic routes.
• 🏙 London stands out with an exceptional six commercial airports, more than any other city in the world, due to historical development and space constraints.
• 🛫 London's airports include Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, London City, and Southend, with four of them located outside the city but still serving London's air traffic.
• 🕰 The foundation of London's multiple airports dates back to World War II, when many airbases were transformed into commercial airports after the war due to the growing demand for air travel.
• 🛠️ Expansion limitations of Heathrow and Gatwick, surrounded by residential and industrial areas, led to the development of additional airports like Stansted to handle the increasing air traffic.
• 🌟 London City Airport was built on an old dock with a runway-shaped space close to the city center, focusing on business travelers and relieving passenger rush at other airports.
• 🎯 Luton and Southend airports were rebranded and developed to include 'London' in their names to better serve as London's airports, increasing their capacity to handle flights.
• 📈 Today, Heathrow and Gatwick remain the largest airports with a combined 1100 flights daily, while Stansted and Luton serve as hubs for budget airlines with about 450 flights daily.
• 💡 The script also includes a promotional message for the game 'War Thunder', offering a massive Bonus Pack for new and returning players, highlighting the game's comprehensive vehicle combat experience.
• 🚧 The challenges of building a new large-scale airport in London include finding suitable land, Green Belt restrictions, protests, financial issues, and political challenges.
• 🤔 The future of London's airport capacity raises questions about whether the city will face the challenges to build a new airport or expand existing ones to meet the demand.

Q & A

Why do some major cities have a dual airport system?

Major cities often have a dual airport system to distribute air traffic efficiently. One airport typically handles longer and international routes, while the other manages shorter and domestic routes.

How many commercial airports does London have and what makes its airport system unique?

London has an unprecedented six commercial airports, which is the highest number for any city in the world. Unlike other cities, which usually have two or three airports at most, London's system is a result of historical development and the transformation of former Air Force bases.

What is the significance of space issues in the placement of airports?

Space issues are crucial in deciding where to place airports, especially in big cities. Airports sometimes need to be located outside city limits due to a lack of available space, which is a common practice among large urban areas.

Why did London start transforming Air Force bases into commercial airports after World War II?

After World War II, the Air Force bases around London were no longer needed for military purposes. With the rise of commercial air travel, these bases were repurposed into commercial airports to accommodate the growing demand for air transport.

What factors led to the creation of a third airport in London during the 1960s?

The 1960s saw a boom in air traffic, and officials realized that Heathrow and Gatwick were too small and surrounded by residential or industrial areas, limiting their expansion capabilities. This led to the decision to build a third airport, Stansted, to serve the Northeast region of London and alleviate traffic at the existing airports.

Why did London's airports end up being so numerous compared to other cities?

London's numerous airports are a result of historical circumstances and the city's piecemeal approach to airport development. Unlike other cities that built airports with future expansion in mind, London's airports were conversions of existing Air Force bases, which were small and limited in number, necessitating the creation of additional airports.

How does the number of runways in London's airports compare to other major cities?

The combined number of runways across all six of London's airports is eight. In contrast, Houston's two airports have a total of seven runways, and Chicago's O'Hare Airport alone has eight runways, illustrating the unique situation of London's airport infrastructure.

What was the rationale behind developing London Luton Airport as a London airport?

London Luton Airport was rebranded and developed to relieve the passenger rush from Heathrow and Gatwick, focusing on business travelers due to its proximity to the financial district of London.

What is the current status of London's airports in terms of operation and capacity?

Heathrow and Gatwick remain the largest airports, serving a total of 1100 flights daily, with Heathrow running at full capacity. Stansted and Luton have become hubs for budget airlines, while London City Airport caters to business travel, and London Southend Airport operates a limited number of routes.

What challenges does London face in considering the construction of a new airport or the expansion of existing ones?

Building a new airport in London is fraught with challenges, including finding a large enough area, navigating Green Belt designations that protect undeveloped areas from development, and overcoming protests, financial issues, and political challenges.

What is the future outlook for London's airport system, and what decisions might the city face?

The future of London's airport system is uncertain. The city may need to decide between overcoming significant challenges to build a new airport or finding ways to expand existing airports to accommodate the growing demand for air travel.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Global Airport Systems and London's Unique Case

The script discusses the common dual-airport system in major cities worldwide, where one airport handles longer international routes and the other focuses on shorter domestic flights. However, London stands out with an exceptional six commercial airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, and others. The explanation delves into the historical reasons behind this, starting from the World War II era when many airbases were transformed into commercial airports. The script also introduces an unrelated video game, War Thunder, which is a comprehensive vehicle combat game with various modes and a special offer for new and returning players.

05:01

🛫 The Evolution of London's Airports and Their Unique Challenges

This paragraph explores why London has more airports than other cities of similar size. It explains that London's airports were originally airbases and lacked space for expansion, leading to the construction of additional airports. The narrative contrasts this with cities like Paris, which planned for growth by building larger airports with room for expansion. The script also mentions the development of London Luton and London Southend airports, which were rebranded and expanded to serve London's increasing air traffic demands. It concludes with the current situation where London's airports are operating near capacity and raises questions about future expansion challenges.

10:02

✈️ London's Airport Future and War Thunder Sponsorship Acknowledgement

The final paragraph speculates on London's potential strategies for addressing the limitations of its current airport infrastructure, suggesting the possibility of building a new airport or expanding existing ones. It acknowledges the numerous challenges, including finding suitable land, navigating Green Belt restrictions, and overcoming protests and political hurdles. The script concludes by thanking War Thunder for sponsoring the video and encourages viewers to try the game, highlighting a special bonus for new and returning players.

Keywords

💡Dual Airport System

A dual airport system refers to a city having two main commercial airports, typically with one handling longer and international routes and the other focusing on shorter and domestic flights. In the video script, it is mentioned that cities like Chicago, Beijing, and Paris follow this system to distribute air traffic effectively.

💡London Airports

The term 'London Airports' encompasses the six commercial airports serving the London area, which is an unusual number compared to other major cities. The script discusses how London has more commercial airports than any other city, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, London City, and Southend.

💡Heathrow

Heathrow, also known as London Heathrow, is the primary airport serving London and is highlighted in the script as the first airport transformed after World War II. It is noted for its significant role in handling a large volume of international air traffic.

💡Gatwick

Gatwick Airport is another major airport near London, mentioned in the script as the second airport to be developed to support Heathrow's traffic. It plays a crucial role in London's air traffic distribution, particularly for leisure travelers.

💡Stansted Airport

Stansted Airport is identified in the script as the third airport developed in London to accommodate the growing air traffic. It was transformed from an Air Force base and serves the Northeast region of London, reducing traffic at Heathrow and Gatwick.

💡London City Airport

London City Airport, as mentioned in the script, is an airport that was built on an old dock and is conveniently close to the city center. It focuses on business travelers and is an example of an airport built from the ground up within the city.

💡Luton Airport

Luton Airport is discussed in the script as an airport that was rebranded and developed to handle more flights, particularly to relieve the passenger rush from Heathrow and Gatwick. It was not originally considered a London airport but was later included in the list due to its service to the city.

💡Southend Airport

Southend Airport, as described in the script, is an airport that was renamed to London Southend Airport in the late 2000s. It serves very few routes with only one airline operating passenger routes, showing an example of an airport that was developed to serve London but has not seen a significant increase in passenger volume.

💡World War II

The script refers to World War II as a significant historical event that influenced the development of London's airports. Many of the airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, were originally Air Force bases used during the war and later transformed into commercial airports to accommodate the growing demand for air travel.

💡Green Belt

The 'Green Belt' is mentioned in the script as a designation that protects areas from development, making it difficult to build new airports in and around London. This is a key factor in understanding why London has multiple airports instead of a single, larger one.

💡Budget Airlines

Budget airlines are airlines that offer low-cost flights, and the script notes that Stansted and Luton airports have become hubs for such airlines. This is significant as it shows the diversification of London's airport services to cater to different market segments.

Highlights

Major cities like Chicago, Beijing, and Paris have dual airport systems, with one airport focusing on longer and international routes and the other on shorter and domestic routes.

London stands out with an unprecedented six commercial airports, more than any other city in the world.

Four of London's airports are located outside the city, but still serve London's air traffic needs.

Airports are sometimes placed outside cities due to space issues, a common occurrence in large metropolitan areas.

London's high number of airports is unusual, as most cities operate with a maximum of two or three airports.

London's multiple airports originated from World War II Air Force bases that were later repurposed for commercial air travel.

Heathrow was the first airport transformed from an Air Force base post-World War II.

Gatwick was the second airport developed to support Heathrow's traffic.

In the 1960s, air traffic growth led to the transformation of another base into Stansted Airport.

London's need for a third airport was due to the limitations of expanding Heathrow and Gatwick, surrounded by residential and industrial areas.

Most cities, including Paris, opted for expansion of existing airports rather than building new ones.

London's airport development was influenced by the availability of Air Force bases rather than strategic planning for commercial aviation.

London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports now operate at or near full capacity, serving over 1100 flights daily.

Stansted and Luton have become hubs for budget airlines, with a combined 450 flights a day.

London City Airport caters to business travelers, while Southend serves very few routes with limited airline operations.

The challenge of building a new large-scale airport in London is due to difficulty finding suitable land, Green Belt restrictions, and various political and financial hurdles.

London's future with its six airports may involve overcoming significant obstacles to expand or build new airport infrastructure.

War Thunder, a comprehensive vehicle combat game, sponsored the video and offers a massive Bonus Pack for new and returning players.

Transcripts

with the growth of air travel over the

years a lot of big cities around the

world have developed a dual Airport

System Chicago Beijing and Paris all

have two commercial airports to

distribute air traffic in all of these

cities one airport is bigger and more

focused on longer and international

routes while the other is for shorter

and domestic routes the same system is

followed by almost all major cities in

the world including Shanghai Istanbul

and Houston but when it comes to London

it is a completely different story with

an unbelievable six airports London has

the highest number of commercial

airports out of any city in the world

these airports are herro Gatwick luden

stanstead London city and south end now

it's important to mention that out of

the six airports four are outside of

London city and they're not just outside

of the city they're also pretty far but

that doesn't mean that they are not

London's airport that's because

sometimes airports need to be placed

outside of cities because of space

issues and it's pretty common among big

cities the main thing to consider is

that these airports are still serving

the people coming and going to London

which makes them London airports even if

they are out of the city with that being

cleared the number of airports that

serve London is very unusual and that's

because there has never been enough

demand in any city in the the world to

go beyond two or three airports at

Max China for example has more than five

cities that are bigger than London yet

none of them have more than two

commercial airports even the biggest

city in the world Tokyo with a

population three times larger than

London has two commercial airports so

why does London have six airports when

clearly two airports would do the

job well London has had all these

airports for a very long time and it is

because of a lot of factors but it all

started in World War II talking about

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it now getting back to the video in the

second world war all the airports in and

around London were used as Air Force

bases and there weren't just six Air

Force bases but several more some of

these bases were airfields and aerod

drones before being transformed into Air

Force bases for the war and the others

were built as Air Force

bases after the world war ended these

Air Force bases weren't much use and

commercial air travel was becoming a

promising transport option so London

started transforming these bases into

commercial

airports the first airport they

transformed after the war was built to

be London's main airport now known as

Heathrow then a couple of years later

the city decided to build another

airport to support traffic at Heathrow

and they transformed another Air Force

Base into Gatwick International

Airport after a few years in the' 60s

air traffic saw a boom and the city

officials realized that two airports

wouldn't be enough and they would need

another airport so they decided to

transform another base this time in the

north to stanstead airport but to build

a third airport for a single city is not

something that you saw back then even

even today most cities can operate on

two airports so how come London needed a

third airport 60 years ago well that's

because both Heathrow and Gatwick were

small airports and they couldn't be

expanded because both of them were

surrounded by residential or industrial

areas and anticipating the growth in air

travel the officials thought building a

new airport would be a good choice

because it would serve the Northeast

region of London and also reduce traffic

at Heathrow and Gatwick but while London

had to build a third airport most

similar sized cities didn't have to go

that route for example when Paris built

their second airport they started with

two runways and left plenty of space for

future expansion and as air travel grew

They just added new terminals and

runways that was possible because they

specifically chose a place like this to

build the airport but in the case of

London the airports were built only

where there was an Airbase before

and that's exactly the reason why London

ended up having so many airports they

just didn't plan to build an airport

from the ground up and kept transforming

airbases which were pretty small so they

had to build more and more if they had

properly planned out an airport after

building Heathrow with enough space to

accommodate five or six runways then

London probably wouldn't have this many

airports if you look at London right now

the combined number of runways they have

is eight including all six

airports comparing this to America

Houston's two airports have combined

seven runways and Chicago's O'Hare

Airport has eight runways alone so

statistically London needed a massive

airport but Heathrow and Gatwick were

built so early in the aviation age that

they couldn't possibly anticipate how

big air travel would become this

situation didn't occur with most cities

around the world probably because they

built their airports later in time or

they had the option to expand but Moscow

shared some similar problems as

London when the Moscow region was

rapidly developing each time the city

needed a significant increase in air

traffic it had to build a new airport as

the old ones were surrounded by Lands

being used for some purpose this led to

Moscow ending up with four commercial

airports the only difference with London

is that they had several Air Force bases

with builtup runways so they chose a new

base each time rather than building a

new one however this trend came to an

end after stanstead because after

stanstead they built a new airport in

the city from the ground up this airport

was an opportunity because there was

this empty space on an old dock that was

conveniently Runway shaped and very

close to the city

center the airport's location being

close to the to the financial district

of London meant that it could focus

specifically on business Travelers but

that was not the only reason they also

wanted to relieve the passenger Rush

from Heathrow and gwick as much as they

could that's why they added London to

the name of luten airport in the

9s before the 9s luten airport wasn't

even considered one of London's airports

not because it didn't have a London in

its name but because it was simply built

for a different region Len airport was

never meant for London only Heathrow

Gatwick City airport and stanstead Were

Meant to serve London but because all

these airports were getting pretty busy

they had to develop Luton as London's

airport for that they rebranded the

airport with London in its name and

developed the airport itself with a new

terminal so it could handle more

flights they did the same thing with the

Southend airport in the late 2000s when

they changed its name to London Southend

airport and built a new

terminal they also added London in front

of staned airport but it didn't change

much passenger volume because staned was

already serving London and was a

developed airport they added the name

just to make it a London Airport

officially this ended the complicated

development of all six airports serving

London today hro and Gatwick are still

the biggest airports both serving a

total of 1100 flights daily Heathrow is

running at full capacity and Gatwick is

not far

either staned and Luton have become hubs

for Budget Airlines with a combined

total of about 450 flights a day the

City Airport sees a mix of Airlines

mostly for business travel and South End

serves very few routes with only one

Airline operating passenger routes now

one question that comes into a lot of

people's minds is why doesn't London

build a bigger airport and close some

other ones

well that's because in today's time it's

almost impossible to build an airport on

a large scale anywhere around London

first it is very hard to find an area

that big and second areas that are not

built are usually protected from any

development by Green Belt

designation then there are protests

money issues political challenges all of

which make it extremely hard to make an

airport the interesting question is what

will London do when they max out with

these airports will they go through the

challenges to build a new one or will

they try and expand one of the current

airports I guess we'll have to wait a

while to see what

happens once again shout out to War

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