London’s main airport transports more passengers than any other in Europe, with half the number of runways as its major competitors

Helsinki airport had 15.3 million passengers in 2013 using its three runways. Nearly five times as many went through Heathrow (72.4m) despite it only having two strips of tarmac.

The west London airport is the busiest in Europe, with a good 10 million more passengers than second placed Charles de Gaulle in Paris. And yet Heathrow lags behind its major competitors in runway space.

Charles de Gaulle has four runways, the same number as Frankfurt, and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport now has six.



By this reckoning Heathrow is a hugely efficient airport, operating to higher capacity than those several times its size. The Airports Commission’s decision on Wednesday to recommend an extra runway would theoretically mean 250,000 more flights a year. This would by some distance allow Heathrow to retain its place as Europe’s busiest.

However, the government has not yet decided whether to follow the commission’s recommendation. The issue is particularly toxic for Conservatives in west London.

How would you be affected by a third runway at Heathrow? Read more

Since the commission started its work Heathrow has lost its place as the world’s busiest international airport to Dubai, and the Gulf state is currently planning further expansion.

Even if David Cameron does push ahead with Heathrow’s development, it will be another few years before any building work begins. Will it be able to retain its place as one of the world’s major transport centres? Well, that’s currently up in the air.