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Come rain or come shine, at some point in your life you will probably end up in an airport. The top 10 biggest airports in the UK look after a huge 250.6 million passengers per year, so we decided to look into what each one offer and how they compare.
From the amount of parking spaces available, to the number of shops, lounges and free Wi-Fi offerings, this guide will let you know exactly what to expect next time you take to the skies.
Number of passengers
Heathrow is a clear frontrunner in terms of size, with over 80 million passengers being handled in 2018. Manchester is approaching 30 million passengers per year, and is the only airport outside of London to crack the top five. Belfast comes in as the 10th busiest airport, seeing over 6 million passengers pass through every year.
| Airport | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Belfast | 6,268,960 |
| Bristol | 8,699,529 |
| Glasgow | 9,656,227 |
| Birmingham | 12,457,051 |
| Edinburgh | 14,294,305 |
| Luton | 16,769,634 |
| Stansted | 27,996,116 |
| Manchester | 28,292,797 |
| Gatwick | 46,086,089 |
| Heathrow | 80,124,537 |
Aircraft movements
An aircraft movement is defined as a takeoff or landing, and it is no surprise that Heathrow leads the way again with almost 500,000 each year. In fact the only difference in the order above is Stanstead, which climbs above Manchester in terms of aircraft movements (201,614 v 201,247), despite welcoming slightly fewer passengers each year.
| Airport | Aircraft movements |
|---|---|
| Belfast | 60,541 |
| Bristol | 72,927 |
| Glasgow | 97,157 |
| Birmingham | 111,828 |
| Edinburgh | 130,016 |
| Luton | 136,511 |
| Stansted | 201,614 |
| Manchester | 201,247 |
| Gatwick | 283,919 |
| Heathrow | 477,604 |
Parking spaces
Finding a parking spot – and being charged an extortionate amount – can be a familiar problem for those who drive to the airport, but what airports should you look out for in particular? By comparing the ratio of passengers handled to parking spots, we have determined that Bristol is the best airport for finding a spot, even though it handles over two million more passengers than 10th placed Belfast every year. Despite having the most spaces, Heathrow is the worst offender – it is twice as hard to find a spot here than at Bristol. The second hardest place to find a parking space the UK’s second busiest airport, Gatwick.
| Airport | Parking spaces |
|---|---|
| Belfast | 8,000 |
| Bristol | 17,154 |
| Glasgow | 7,937 |
| Birmingham | 13,000 |
| Edinburgh | 11,121 |
| Luton | 12,323 |
| Stansted | 35,000 |
| Manchester | 22,000 |
| Gatwick | 30,527 |
| Heathrow | 51,500 |
212,012 parking spaces
is the total number of parking spaces in the top 10 UK airports.
Airport facilities and statistics
Here are all the statistics you could ever need on the UK’s 10 busiest airports. You may be going away soon and want to check the lounge situation at the airport you’re flying from, or perhaps you’re just curious to see how many destinations each airport flies to?
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 2 |
| Airlines | 84 |
| Gates | 231 |
| Most popular destination | New York (JFK) |
| Fast track | £12.50 |
| Lounges | 12: One free, the rest £24.99-£50.00 |
| Number of sockets available | 3,050 power plugs |
| Seats and rest zones | Plenty |
| Wi-Fi | Free, unlimited |
| Shops | 79 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 37 |
| Hotels | 6 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 2 |
| Airlines | 50 |
| Gates | 115 |
| Most popular destination | Barcelona |
| Fast track | Passport control: £9.99. Security: £5 |
| Lounges | 7, £21-£38 |
| Number of sockets available | Plenty |
| Seats and rest zones | Plenty |
| Wi-Fi | 90 minutes free |
| Shops | 39 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 32 |
| Hotels | 6 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 2 |
| Airlines | 56 |
| Most popular destination | Amsterdam |
| Fast track | Passport control: £7 Security: £6 |
| Lounges | 2, £21-£30 |
| Number of sockets available | Few |
| Seats and rest zones | Plenty |
| Wi-Fi | 4 hours free |
| Shops | 26 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 27 |
| Hotels | 16 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 1 |
| Airlines | 22 |
| Gates | 88 |
| Most popular destination | Dublin |
| Fast track | From £8 |
| Lounges | 1, from £25 |
| Number of sockets available | Few |
| Seats and rest zones | Poor |
| Wi-Fi | 4 hours free |
| Shops | 22 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 20 |
| Hotels | 10 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 1 |
| Airlines | 11 |
| Gates | 28 |
| Most popular destination | Amsterdam |
| Fast track | Security: £6 |
| Lounges | 1, £22.49-£50 |
| Number of sockets available | 440 |
| Seats and rest zones | Limited |
| Wi-Fi | 4 hours free |
| Shops | 23 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 16 |
| Hotels | 4 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 2 |
| Airlines | 37 |
| Destinations | 157 |
| Most popular destination | Amsterdam |
| Fast track | From £5 |
| Lounges | 2, from £25.99 |
| Number of sockets available | Plenty |
| Seats and rest zones | Limited |
| Wi-Fi | 2 hours for free |
| Shops | 23 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 15 |
| Hotels | 5 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 1 |
| Airlines | 50 |
| Destinations | 143 |
| Most popular destination | Dublin |
| Fast track | Passport control £5, Security £3.75 |
| Lounges | 4, £24.99-£34 |
| Number of sockets available | Limited |
| Seats and rest zones | Limited |
| Wi-Fi | Free |
| Shops | 23 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 13 |
| Hotels | 6 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 1 |
| Airlines | 30 |
| Destinations | 101 |
| Most popular destination | Amsterdam |
| Fast track | Security: £4.99 |
| Lounges | 2, £23-£40 |
| Number of sockets available | Plenty |
| Seats and rest zones | Plenty, frowned upon passengers sleeping |
| Wi-Fi | 1 hour free |
| Shops | 18 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 14 |
| Hotels | 5 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 1 |
| Airlines | 13 |
| Destinations | 125 |
| Most popular destination | Palma |
| Fast track | Security: £3.95 |
| Lounges | 2, £22.99-£34.99 |
| Number of sockets available | Limited |
| Seats and rest zones | Limited |
| Wi-Fi | 2 hours free |
| Shops | 9 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 8 |
| Hotels | 12 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Runways | 2 |
| Airlines | 7 |
| Most popular destination | Alicante |
| Fast track | Priority security £4 |
| Lounges | 1, £27.50 |
| Number of sockets available | Limited |
| Seats and rest zones | Poor, none |
| Wi-Fi | 2 hours free |
| Shops | 6 |
| Restaurants/cafés | 10 |
| Hotels | 1 |
Sources
Heathrow Airport
Gatwick Airport
Manchester Airport
Stansted Airport
Luton Airport
Edinburgh Airport
Birmingham Airport
Glasgow Airport
Bristol Airport
Belfast Airport
CAA
Gatwick Airport
Manchester Airport
Stansted Airport
Luton Airport
Edinburgh Airport
Birmingham Airport
Glasgow Airport
Bristol Airport
Belfast Airport
CAA
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:
Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
UK Communications Manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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