London serves as the largest and busiest air gateway in UK with five major international airports. These include London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, London City and London Luton. Other than London, cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast serve as major entry points of UK.
London Heathrow Airport, situated in the west of London, is the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic. This airport also serves as hub of Europe. Heathrow directly links London (UK) to almost all major destinations in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Australia with fewer direct flights to South America.
The national carrier, British Airways, has its hub at Heathrow. This sprawling airport is currently divided into 4 terminals, namely T1, T3, T4 and T5. T1 serves BMI and most Star Alliance airlines while T3 serves Oneworld airlines like Virgin Atlantic. T4 is the terminal for SkyTeam airlines while most British Airways flights operate to and from T5.
London Gatwick Airport, situated in Sussex, is the 2nd largest airport in UK and serves a wide range of international flights. London Stansted Airport in Essex is the hub for budget airlines like Ryanair and easyJet. Stansted serves numerous direct flights to and from Europe and Asia. Air Asia X flights to Kuala Lumpur also operate from Stansted.
London Luton Airport, situated in Bedfordshire, is another major hub for Ryanair and easyJet. London City Airport is the most central airport in London and primarily serves business passengers from the main financial centres in Europe. Manchester Airport in the North of England is the 3rd largest airport in UK and serves flights from European cities.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport, situated in northwest England, is UK's fastest-growing airport. Taking more and more flights day by day, Liverpool offers flights to dozens of locations across Europe, the Near East and North Africa as well as North America. Newcastle International Airport is the 12th busiest in UK and 3rd largest in northern England.
Birmingham International is the 2nd largest airport in UK, outside London. Offering flights to most European destinations, Birmingham is served by major European flag carriers. It is also the hub of low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet.
Glasgow International Airport is the busiest airport in Scotland, serving most major airlines except for RyanAir and few low-cost carriers. Cardiff International is the only international airport in Wales and serves as the major hub of bmibaby. Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland operates seasonal flights across the world.
Some other regional airports in England include Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Exeter, Leeds Bradford, Norwich, Southampton and Durham Tees Valley. In Scotland, the main airports serving regional flights include Aberdeen and Inverness. Airports such as Swansea in Wales and Derry in Northern Ireland also serve numerous regional flights.
Main Airports in UK
The largest airport in the United Kingdom is London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow (LHR). Situated in the London Borough of Hillingdon, Heathrow is the 4th busiest airport in the world, busiest in the European Union and 2nd busiest in Europe. Located 22 km from Central London, Heathrow handles maximum international passengers than any other airport in the world.
Heathrow is the hub of national carrier, British Airways. Flights operating to and from Heathrow link UK to major destinations in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Australia with fewer direct flights to South America.
The airport is divided into 4 terminals, namely T1, T3, T4 and T5. T1 serves BMI and Star Alliance airlines. T3 serves Oneworld airlines like Virgin Atlantic. T4 serves SkyTeam airlines while T5 serves British Airways.
Facilities at the airport include business services, cash machines, concierge service, hotel reservation desks (BHRC) and information desks. At the terminals, facilities for internet access, left baggage, lost property, payphones and phone charging are also available. Lounges, medical centres, shops, restaurants, post office and toilets are also built within the airport. Currency exchange and VAT refund are also available.
London Gatwick Airport, located 45.7 km south of Central London, is the 2nd busiest international airport in UK. The prominent airlines of Gatwick are British Airways, easyJet and other international carriers.
There are two terminals at Gatwick, namely North and South. At the airport, travellers can find facilities for shopping, eating and currency exchange. Business amenities and other facilities for children are also available.
Manchester Airport, located 13.9 km southwest of Manchester City, is the 3rd busiest airport in UK. Manchester links UK to over 190 destinations across the globe primarily North America, Asia and Europe by over 84 airlines. Manchester Airport is the major gateway for those travelling to North Wales, the North of England and Scotland.
It has three passenger terminals, namely T1, T2 and T3. The airport also serves as a secondary hub for bmibaby, Flybe, Jet2.com and Virgin Atlantic. Shopping facilities and lounges are available here.
Tourists travelling from Europe to Central England and Wales can choose flights directed to the Birmingham International Airport. The only airport serving international flights in Wales is the Cardiff International Airport. It is also the hub for bmibaby. Belfast International Airport serves Northern Ireland.
For travelling to Scotland, the options include Edinburgh International Airport or Glasgow International Airport. Other major gateways to the country include London Stansted, London City and London Luton in London.
Outside London, the major entry points are Liverpool, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Exeter, Inverness, Leeds Bradford, Norwich, Southampton, Aberdeen, Swansea and Derry, to name a few.
Airlines in UK
Numerous domestic and international carriers link major cities like London and Edinburgh to several destinations within UK as well as across the world. British Airways (BA) is the national carrier, operating flights from different parts of the globe, primarily Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Australia. The other main domestic carriers are subsidiaries of BA, namely British European Airways and British Midland.
Various low cost carriers (LCC) also operate within UK, such as Ryanair, easyJet, bmibaby as well as flybe and its franchise Loganair. Blue Islands, Euromanx, Eastern Airways, Air Southwest and Aurigny Air Services also operate domestic flights within UK.
Isles of Scilly Skybus, Jet2, Thomsonfly, CityJet, Highland Airways, British International and Atlantic Airways are also included in the list of domestic airlines of UK. Other than domestic airlines, number of international carriers like Jet Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Kingfisher also operate flights to and from UK.
Other airlines offering services to and from UK include KLM, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, China Eastern and American Airlines. Air France, Austrian Airlines, Delta, Qantas and Cathay Pacific are few other international airlines servicing UK.
Finnair, EL AL Israel Airlines, Transaero Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Continental Airlines, Aeroflot, Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates and Thai Airways also operate flights to and from UK.
Royal Jordanian, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Swiss, Air China, Asiana Airlines and EgyptAir further, add to the list. Others include Oman Air, Air Canada, Saudi Arabian, Air Asia X, Turkish Airlines, Gulf Air and All Nippon Airways.
Flights
