Air transport in the United Kingdom covers the commercial carriage of passengers, freight, and mail by aircraft, both within the United Kingdom (UK) and between the UK and the rest of the world. In 2024 the UK had the third highest number of passengers carried, behind only the United States (US) and China.
More than half of all passengers travelling by air in the UK currently travel via one of the six London area airports. Among these, Heathrow Airport is one the ten busiest airports in the world. Manchester Airport is the largest and busiest UK airport outside of London, acting as a hub for the roughly 20million people living in the vicinity. Regional airports have achieved the most growth in recent years due to the success of low-cost carrier airlines.
After a plunge in traffic in 2020 and 2021, UK air travel increased significantly in 2022 with over 224million passengers travelling to and from UK airports, thereby reaching 75 per cent of 2019 levels. The demand for passenger air travel is forecast to increase from the 2024 level of 295million passengers to 425million in 2050, raising questions regarding its environmental impact.
History Imperial Airways and British Airways Limited were merged and nationalised as British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1939. BOAC in turn merged with British European Airways (BEA) in 1974 to form British Airways (BA). In the 1970s, the aircraft manufacturers British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, and Scottish Aviation were merged and nationalised as British Aerospace (BAe). In the 1980s, both BA and BAe were privatised by the Thatcher government.
The advent in the mid-1990s of "no-frills" carriers such as easyJet and BA's Go had a significant impact on air travel in the UK. In 2005 these airlines carried 77.5million passengers, up from just 4.3million in 1996.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.2, pp.4–5, figs. 2.4 & 2.5 They were also responsible for the growth of regional airports, numbering 35 in 2006 compared to 10 in 1996, and increasing the choice of international destinations to 150 in 2006 compared with 12 a decade earlier.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.2, p.1, section 2.1
The annual rate of growth in the overall demand for air travel has remained stable since 1975, with current growth being served by the no-frills airlines at the expense of traditional carriers, which have experienced flat or declining traffic levels since 2000.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.2, pp.1–3 & pp.7–10No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.3, p.3, section 3.13 & ch.3, p.6, section 3.25 In response, these traditional carriers have lowered costs to compete more effectively on price, leading to lower prices on their short haul routes, especially business fares.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.3, pp.3–4 & ch.4, pp.12–13 They have also limited or reduced capacity, and in some cases launched no-frills subsidiaries of their own.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.3, p.4
Airports
The number of airports in the UK runs into the hundreds, although many are smaller aerodromes dealing with general aviation rather than air transport. In terms of the latter, statistics are collected from 59 main airports, with the largest concentration of services located in the London and South East England areas.
Heathrow Airport is the largest airport in the country, handling over 84 million terminal passengers in 2025. This made it the seventh busiest airport in the world as of that date, and the second busiest by number of international passengers. Nearly a third of all non-UK residents visiting the UK enter via this airport, which also handles more than a fifth of all visits overseas by UK residents. Heathrow is also a cargo gateway and generally has up to 20 dedicated cargo aircraft using its facilities daily. DHL is the largest of these, and also leases cargo aircraft to BA for weekend operations.The Economic Contribution of the Aviation Industry in the UK, p33
The five main London airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London Luton, and London City airports – handle nearly 178.2million terminal passengers per year, over 60 per cent of the national total. Gatwick Airport handled over 42.8million terminal passengers in 2025, is the second largest airport in the country, and claims to be the busiest single-runway airport in Europe. As far as dedicated cargo services are concerned, Stansted and East Midlands airports have both experienced large growth in freight handling over the past decade, and these two airports are the major hubs for express freight operations.The Economic Contribution of the Aviation Industry in the UK, p34Outside London and the South East the use of regional airports has increased dramatically in recent years with the amount of air traffic using these facilities doubling in the period 1995 to 2005.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, ch.1, p.8, section 1.32 For example, in the five years from 2001 passenger numbers at the regional Exeter Airport, Bristol Airport, and Newcastle Airport increased by 191 per cent, 113 per cent, and 60 per cent respectively. In the same period the largest airports experienced some of their slowest growth, with Heathrow passenger numbers increasing by 11 per cent and those at Gatwick increasing by less than 10 per cent. Exeter and Bristol airports changed their names to become 'International' airports in 2000 and 1997 respectively.
Airlines
The vast majority of passengers travelling to or from the UK by air are carried by the approximately 40 UK airlines, and at the end of 2006 the UK air transport fleet numbered 963 aircraft, flying just under 1.2million flights per year and averaging over eight hours of flying daily.
The two largest airlines by passenger numbers – BA and easyJet – together account for nearly half of the 127million passengers flown on UK airlines per year. In terms of both available and used capacity, BA is the largest airline, with Virgin Atlantic second, and easyJet in third place. BA passenger flights also account for over 50 per cent of all cargo carried by UK airlines, and when taken together with BA's dedicated cargo operations the airline carries over 60 per cent of all cargo carried by UK airlines. Capacity is measured in 'seat kilometres', i.e. the number of seats available/used multiplied by the distance flown.
Passenger travel Air travel is the most popular mode of transport for travel to and from the UK. In 2005 it was used for 80 per cent of all outbound visits by UK residents travelling overseas and by 74 per cent of all inbound visits. Just over a quarter of all air passengers travel on business, and the advent of no-frills carriers has led to significant growth in business travel from regional airports and more inbound trips by non-UK residents visiting friends and family. Whilst the no-frills carriers have been perceived to democratise air travel, providing the opportunity for lower income groups to travel more often, the main result is that middle and higher income groups travel more often and often for shorter trips.No-Frills Carriers: Revolution or Evolution?, Executive Summary pp.4–6 & ch.4, p.11, section 4.18
Just over a fifth of all UK terminal passengers travel on domestic routes, while half travel between the UK and the rest of the European Union (EU). Travel between the UK and Spain, France, Germany, and Italy accounts for around half of the intra-EU travel, with Spain almost matching the other three countries combined in terms of passenger numbers. The US, the Far East, Switzerland, and the Middle East together account for just over half of all passengers flying between the UK and the rest of the world outside the EU, with the US exceeding the other three regions combined in terms of passenger numbers.
The United Kingdom has a low usage of internal domestic flights, and after a high in 2005/06 this has been in decline. In 2010 and 2011 just 18.4million internal domestic passengers were carried compared with 1,352million rail journeys in the same period. Air travel's share of passengers has reduced significantly on certain key routes. For example, for London to Manchester, rail's market share compared to air passenger journeys rose from 69 per cent in 2008 to 79 per cent in 2010; for Birmingham to Edinburgh, rail's market share rose from 14 per cent in 2008 to 31 per cent in 2010; and for London to Glasgow, rail's market share rose from 12 per cent in 2008 to 20 per cent in 2010. However, air still remains the leader on many London to Scotland journeys.
Air transport policy
In December 2003 the government published The Future of Air Transport White Paper, which detailed the government's approach to the future development of air transport. The White Paper does not in itself authorise or preclude any development but seeks instead to define a "national strategic framework for the future development of airport capacity" over the next 30 years.The Future of Air Transport, para. 1.6, p17 The principal conclusion was that the two extremes of failing to provide additional airport capacity and encouraging growth without regard for the wider impacts are equally unacceptable options. Instead, a "balanced and measured approach" to the future of air transport in the UK was adopted.The Future of Air Transport, para. 2.17–2.18, p26
The current airport capacity has been identified as an important constraint on the ability to meet the increasing demand for air travel. In many cases airport capacity is already fully used in meeting current demand. At Heathrow and Gatwick airports the runways are full for "... virtually the whole day", and passenger terminal capacity at Edinburgh Airport has reached its limit.The Future of Air Transport, para. 2.11–2.12, p24 Government forecasts in 2003 suggested that by 2030 the number of passengers could rise to between 400 and 600 mppa (million people per annum), representing a two to three fold increase, and a figure of 500 mppa by 2030 was regarded by the government as "robust".The Future of Air Transport, para.2.8, p23The Future of Air Transport, para. 25, p154 In 2006 the government reported that at 228 mppa the demand for air travel the previous year was in line with the 2003 forecast, but also revised the forecast demand for 2030 downwards to 465 mppa as a result of capacity constraints, even taking into account proposed airport developments.Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006, paras. 4.4 & 4.11
The government's approach is also designed to cater for the forecast growth in demand, thus supporting economic prosperity nationally and enabling ordinary people to travel at reasonable cost. But at the same time there is a need to manage and mitigate the environmental impacts of aviation and ensure that the costs associated with them are reflected in the price of air travel.The Future of Air Transport, Executive Summary Conclusions & para. 2.18, p26 In December 2006 the government published the Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006 to report on progress made in "... delivering a sustainable future for aviation".Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006 The report reiterated the government's commitment to the strategy defined in the original White Paper, stating that it "... strikes the right balance between economic, social and environmental goals".Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006, para. 1.2