Reaching for the Skies- the Evolution of London’s Airports

CW: Mentions of War and the Pandemic

For years, aviation has been a massive part of the travel industry, whether you’re travelling to a far-flung location, or your destination is just a little too far to drive or go by ferry. But like any flight, the story of London’s five airports hasn’t been without turbulence. From a world where flying was reserved for a select few, to one where you can take to the skies and travel almost anywhere, lets take a journey back in time and explore the the history of the London Airports!

From Wars to Records

Before commercial flying found its feet, aviation served a different purpose- fighting wars. But after the First World War ended in November 1918, people began to see the potential for what was originally a much more narrowly-used invention. What if instead of waiting for shipments to be delivered by boat, they could have things arrive so much faster by air instead?

The concept of delivering cargo by plane had been around since 1910, when a race took place between a train and one of the first aeroplanes, to see which could deliver 10 bolts of silk across Ohio (with the plane winning!), however in the years and decades following, it began to really take off. The first air mail flight took place in 1911 in India. In 1919, a first attempt to carry heavier cargo between US cities Washington and Chicago was grounded due to technical problems, but the company running the flight, American Railway Express, continued to experiment.

The First London Airports

Across the Atlantic Ocean, more advancements were taking place. 1920 brought the opening of London Croydon Airport, in the south of the London. Other airports existed in the UK at the time, but this new one was bigger and more groundbreaking than ever before, paving the way for things now taken for granted in aviation, such as Air Traffic Control, airport terminals, and major UK-based airlines, mainly the now defunct Imperial Airways.

As the country’s largest and busiest airport at the time, and the only UK airport built between the two world wars, London Croydon was the site of a pretty impressive range of historical events. By the late 1920s, notable pilots were flying as far as Cape Town and Australia, however there were some accidents that took place at the airport too, tragically killing pilots and passengers. There was even a robbery in March 1935, in which £21,000 worth of gold was stolen, and to this day the gold has never been found.

Around the same time, a large grass field towards the North of London, and South East of a village called Heathrow, became a testing ground for planes built by aircraft manufacturers Fairey. Then named the Great West Aerodome, the field was redeveloped as the simply named London Airport in 1944; originally intended to be a hub for military aircraft, before being repurposed as London’s second civil airport once World War Two had ended. At the time, the area was much more peaceful than it is now, with country lanes and even a farm. With the redevelopment came the clearing of the entire Heath Row Village, to make way for runways that stretched over 3,000m, or 9,843ft.

Compared with the Heathrow Airport we know today, the early London Airport was a lot more humble. When it first opened, the four terminals were just marquees, repurposed after being used for military activities, but that’s not to say they weren’t comfortable. Passengers could rest on armchairs and sofas, and there were even vases filled of flowers to further brighten up the atmosphere.

Growth and Closures

In Heathrow’s first year of operation, passenger numbers reached an impressive 63,000, and in the years following, this success was yet to continue. Even more airports began to take flight (pun intended!) across London around this time, and as time went on, London Croydon Airport was used less and less. In 1952, it was decided that London’s first airport should close permanently, but even then, it took seven years before the last ever flight, a private jet leaving at 7:45, would take off from the airport.

As the birthplace of purpose-built airport terminals, Air Traffic Control and even the Mayday distress signal, there’s no doubt that London Croydon Airport played a massive role in making aviation what it is today. The airport was part of British military history too- having been the site of an attack in the Battle of Britain. The terminal and control tower still remain, now operating as a volunteer-run visitor centre.

In other parts of the city, airports Luton, Gatwick and Stansted were also moving away from military activity and increasing their presence as civil airports during the 1950s. London Luton Airport opened as London Municipal Airport in 1938, but benefitted from the growth of the holiday industry after WW2. Gatwick Airport had been the site of some passenger and cargo flights since 1946, but underwent a massive renovation in 1956, becoming a hub for a range of airlines and the world’s first airport to be directly accessible by train. To the Northeast, Stansted Airport was taken over by the British Airports Authority, a move that would lead to many expansions to come. It wasn’t until 1987 that London’s newest major airport, London City Airport, would open its doors, and it’s still expanding today.

The Capacity Conundrum

With hubs as big and central as airports, its only natural that there will be some crowds, and some passengers having to travel further than they may have liked in order to get to the correct airport for their journey. Flying was making the world more connected than it had ever really been before, and with came plenty of demand, with airports particularly in the South East of England serving more passengers each year, to the point where they were beginning to struggle with capacity.

So, on the 1st February 1978, the UK government brought in a plan to combat this: the White Paper Airports Policy. Just the name sounds terrifyingly formal, but all it aimed to do was divert passengers away from South East airports and towards other regions such as the Midlands and the North, and to increase the capacity of airports across the country. The policy discussed plenty of plans and proposals to do this, some of which came to fruition (such as Heathrow’s fourth terminal and a second terminal at Gatwick), while some of which didn’t, but most of the UK’s airports benefitted.

In 1986, work began for a huge expansion at Stansted, bringing its passenger numbers to 15 million passengers per year. The expansion took five years to complete, and the new terminal opened in 1991, later going on to win several awards. The 1980s also brought the introduction of the Gatwick Express over at Gatwick Airport, which offers a faster, more comfortable route to the airport from surrounding cities.

The 1978 Airports White Paper was a huge moment in the history of the London Airports, making flying easier and more accessible for lots of people. But with this ease came even more demand for aviation- and this brought the opening of the fifth and newest airport to serve this capital city.

A Journey of Controversy

If you followed the debate a few years ago surrounding whether or not Gatwick Airport should get a second runway, you’ll know that any kind of major airport development can understandably cause a lot of controversy. Local residents are often worried about the extra noise and air pollution, as well as traffic, caused by the developments, and this was exactly the case when a proposal for a new airport to open in London in 1987.

Plans for the airport first came into being after now defunct airline Brymon Airways found success using Short Take Off and Landing planes, that didn’t need a particularly long runway, and a short runway was built in Plymouth to accommodate these. The concept of a small runway by the sea was working well, so it made sense to create a similar airport not on the coast, but on the docklands of London’s River Thames.

It was decided that the new airport should be located in the East End of London, in a county named Newham. Some people hoped that it would bring economic benefits to the area, but others had some concerns. The airport, named London City Airport, would be uncomfortably close to residential areas, and to make matters worse, promises were made to console the concerned residents, yet not kept. London City Airport was intended to serve small, quiet planes only, but as the years went on, the aircraft using the airport became louder, larger, and more frequent.

The types of customers using London City Airport changed too. At first, it was used mainly by business travellers, and so had its own kind of rush hour traffic in the mornings and evenings. The rush hour still remains, but now much more of London City’s passengers are travelling for leisure.

With the airport’s growing popularity came more developments- most notably, a longer runway. The runway was still relatively small compared with other airports, but can now handle 120,000 larger jets which bring even more noise. There are a lot of differing opinions surrounding London City Airport; whether it is an important hub for business and leisure travel, or a nuisance that has brought too many broken promises. Either way, London City is a key example of how in a globally-connected world, the chance for more easily accessible flights can take off almost instantly.

The Present and Future of Airports

The past few years have had an impact on pretty much everything, and unsurprisingly, airports were no exception. The pandemic grounded almost all commercial flights, and with many countries shutting off their borders completely, airports were left virtually empty. But the aviation industry has fought through plenty of adversary before, and with the first flights returning just four months after the beginning of lockdown, it didn’t take long for airports and airlines to begin bouncing back.

Flying still hasn’t returned to its former popularity, and forecasts predict that it won’t return to 2019 levels until 2024, according to The Economist. Despite this, we can still see the industry going strong. The screenshot above is taken from the FlightAware online flight tracker, showing all the flights currently taking place in Western and parts of East and North Europe, on a Sunday mid-afternoon at the time of writing.

Another problem that airports themselves may not have to solve, but airlines and aircraft manufacturers definitely will, is the question of environmental impact. I am by no means an expert on planes, but I do know that with the amount of fuel that planes use, they tend to emit quite a lot of carbon dioxide. We can already see some airlines taking steps to reduce their impact, such as offering passengers the chance to offset their emissions, and Boeing and TUI’s Dreamliner is more fuel-efficient, using around 20% less fuel than other aircraft. However, there’s a lot more that will need to be done in order to bring aviation- and the airports that rely on them- into the environmentally conscious future,.

Have you ever been to an airport and/or on a plane? Where’s your favourite destination to travel to? Let me know in the comments below!

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Thanks for reading, and remember to never stop exploring!

Lily 🙂